REMOTE  STORAGE 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA  BULLETIN 


New  Series  No.  157.  University  Extension  Series  No.  44 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 

BULLETIN 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 

J.  w.  SCROGGS,  Editor 

DEPARTMENT  OF  PUBLIC  DISCUSSION  AND  DEBATE 

THE  UNIVERSITY  EXTENSION 


i/ 

r 


NORMAN,  OKLAHOMA 
Novem  ber  15,  1918 


University  of  Oklahoma  Bulletin,  published  by  the  university,  is 
issued  semi-monthly.  Entered  at  the  postoffice  at  Norman,  as  second 
class  matter,  under  act  of  congress  of  August  21,  1912.  Accepted  for 
mailing  at  special  rate  of  postage,  provided  for  in  Section  1103,  act  of 
October  3rd,  1917,  authorized  cn  Juiy  8th,  1918. 


JAN  17  1919 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


THE  UNIVERSITY  EXTENSION 
DEPARTMENT  OF  PUBLIC  DISCUSSION  AND  DEBATE 


PROBLEMS 


J.  W.  Scroggs,  Editor 


> 


* 


# 


PUBLISHED  SEMI-MONTHLY  BY  THE  UNIVERSITY 

NORMAN,  OKLAHOMA 


FOREWORD. 


This  bulletin  is  Part  II  of  a  series  of  four  parts;  as  follows: 

Part  I;  Studies  on  the  Great  War. 

Part  II;  Studies  on  Social  Problems. 

Part  III;  Problems  of  Individual  Development. 

Part  IV ;  Living  in  Oklahoma. 

A  consideration  of  all  the  social  problems  of  our  day  would 
be  far  beyond  the  scope  of  this  series  of  studies;  it  is  necessary 
to  select  only  a  few.  While  the  supreme  importance  of  those 
selected  is  not  always  recognized  there  can  be  no  dout  of  their 
serious  and  urgent  importance  in  the  life  of  our  day  For  the 
most  part  they  are  not  yet  in  the  fields  of  controversy  either 
political  or  economic.  They  lie  deeper  and  chiefly  concern  the 
ideals  of  character  and  citizenship.  The  purpose  is  not  so  much 
to  study  the  controverted  questions  of  the  day  as  the  grounds 
out  of  which  questions  arise. 

As  in  all  previous  University  bulletins,  no  attempt  is  made 
in  this  one  to  advocate  exclusively  any  side  or  special  view  of 
the  topics  studied.  The  sole  purpose  is  to  arouse  interest  in 
these  topics  and  promote  their  further  study,  with  the  ultimate 
aim  of  finding  appropriate  materials  for  inductive  studies  in 
character  and  citizenship  development.  Nothing  is  advocated 
because  it  is  popular  or  unpopular,  or  because  of  its  material 
values,  but  only  for  the  sake  of  its  fundamental  ethical  and 
spiritual  values. 

Problems  of  much  greater  interest  to  business  men  or  pub¬ 
licists  might  have  been  found;  the  ones  selected  will  be  of  chief 
interest  to  philanthropy  and  patriotism.  While  not  the  leading 
controverted  questions  of  today  some  of  them  may  be  by  the  time 
those  now  in  the  high  schools  are  in  charge  of  the  affairs  of  the 
world.  They  must  be  imprest  with  the  truth  that  nothing  can 
ever  be  settld  till  it  is  settld  right. 

We  would  gladly  leave  a  better  world  to  those  who  are  to 
come  after  us  but  we  cannot;  they  must  make  their  owTn  world. 
Whether  it  will  be  a  world  of  war  and  struggle,  of  hatred  and 
unrest;  whether  the  world’s  woes  and  sufferings  must  continue 
they  must  determine  for  themselves.  We  can  only  hope  that,  as 

> 

David  gathered  materials  for  his  son  to  build  the  temple,  for  the 
social  structures  of  the  future  we  may  gather  such  materials, 
such  unselfish  principles  of  justice,  sympathy,  wisdom,  and  right 
that  the  next  age  may  be  better  than  ours. 

October,  1918. 

J.  W.  SCROGGS 

Department  of  Public  Information  and  Welfare 


3  09, 73 


I.  THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  MODERN  FAMILY 

INTRODUCTION. 

The  Family  Fundamental.  The  family  is  beyond  question 
the  ultimate  social  unit  of  humanity.  On  the  family  depends  the 
physical,  mental,  and  moral  welfare  of  the  race.  Our  interest  in 
the  family,  then  must  be  unsurpast  by  any  other  interest  in  life; 
and  the  welfare  of  the  family  must  be  our  chief  concern.  It 
deserves  a  place,  then?  in  our  list  of  important  current  topics. 

The  Prolongation  of  Infancy.  The  human  being  is  born  the 
most  helpless  of  all  and  remains  helpless  longest.  While  mental 
and  physical  development  are  not  complete  till  30  or  later,  it  has 
be^n  found  practicable  to  entrust  human  beings  with  the  re¬ 
sponsibilities  of  maturity  at  the  age  of  21.  Th  primary  purpose 
of  the  home  is  to  provide  a  suitable  place  for  children  to  grow  up. 
The  fact  that  no  great  genius  has  ever  come  from  a  public  home 
for  children  is  a  very  significant  testimony  to  the  value  of  the 
home  to  the  race.  Different  treatment  is  required  for  different 
ages  and  dispositions,  and  all  home  policies  must  be  adapted  to 
individual  peculiarities  and  needs.  For  the  first  years  infinite 
tenderness  and  care  are  required.  As  the  intellectual,  moral, 
and  social  powers  develop,  equal  tho  constantly  changing  care  is 
required  in  order  to  prevent  dwarfing  or  mal-development. 

The  Mother  and  the  Family.  We  have  not  yet  succeeded  in 
perfectly  developing  a  human  being.  Every  other  interest  in  life 
is  subordinate  to  this;  the  endowment  and  development  of  chil¬ 
dren  may  well  be  considered  the  paramount  interest  of  human 
life.  The  husband  and  father  may  build  up  a  great  business,  a 
factory  or  a  business  block  that  bears  his  name,  he  may  be 
widely  known  and  honored;  but  his  life  achievement  is  utterly 
insignificant  in  comparison  with  that  of  a  wife  who  brings  into 
the  ranks  of  men  a  rare  being  who  shall  bless  the  world  for  all 
time.  We  need  to  see  that  home  making  is  not  only  a  great  busi¬ 
ness,  but  that  it  is  the  great  business  of  human  life.  While  we 
wear  carnations  on  Mother’s  Day,  and  pay  them  empty  tributes, 
the  day  must  come  when  a  civilization  will  be  decried  which 
does  not  provide  pensions  and  honors  for  mothers  as  for  the 
best  of  soldiers.  Often  a  mother,  left  a  widow  with  a  family  of 
children,  by  incredible  sacrifices  and  heroic  effort  gives  a  family 


V 


84 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


of  good  citizens  to  a  state  which  never  gives  the  slightest  recog¬ 
nition  of  her  achievement  or  of  its  obligation  on  account  of  it. 

Failure  of  the  Family.  In  a  recent  Oklahoma  newspaper  a 
list  of  27  cases  of  the  docket  of  the  District  Court  was  given  of 
which  20  w'ere  for  divorce,  and  16  of  which  were  granted,  18  of 
the  suits  were  .brought  by  wives.  There  are  more  divorces  in 
the  United  States  than  in  all  the  rest  of  the  civilized  world  to¬ 
gether  and  the  rate  is  increasing  three  times  as  fast  as  the 
population.  The  average  for  the  entire  nation  is  about  one  di¬ 
vorce  to  every  twelve  marriages;  but  the  state  of  Washington 
had  one  divorce  for  every  four  marriages;  Montana  one  for  every 
five;  Colorado,  Texas,  Arkansas,  and  Indiana  one  for  every  six, 
and  San  Francisco  in  1903  had  one  divorce  for  every  three  mar¬ 
riages.  All  these  are  family  failures;  but  they  are  not  all. 
Where  one  case  goes  to  court  there  are  many  who  endure  in 
silence  for  duty’s  sake  a  home  which  is  more  like  a  hell  than  the 
the  paradise  married  life  was  meant  to  b'e;  homes  may  be  fail¬ 
ures  and  yet  kept  up. 

Matrimonial  Choosing.  Among  the  ancients  parents  chose 
husbands  for  their  daughters  and  sons’  choices  had  to  have 
their  approval.  Tho  this  plan  has  long  been  discarded  by  civil¬ 
ized  peoples,  young  people  are  great  fools  who  do  not  consult 
their  parents  in  such  matters.  Parents  are  apt  to  underestimate 
affection,  are  too  unwilling  to  take  risks,  and  are  apt  to  lay  too 

I 

much  stress  on  financial  considerations.  Civilization  has  left 
the  supreme  decision  as  to  who  shall  marry  to  the  women  not 
because  that  always  secures  the  wisest  choices,  but  because 
women  are  the  chief  sufferers  from  unwise  choices,  and  there¬ 
fore  marriage  should  not  be  forced  upon  them,  Young  people 
usually  overestimate  affection,  underestimate  character,  and  are 
generally  ignorant  of  eugenic  considerations. 

Matrimonial  Aids.  Most  marriages  are  more  or  less  irra¬ 
tionally  contracted  tho  many  turn  out  happily.  No  dout  this  is 
a  potent  cause  of  divorce.  Some  have  advocated  responsible 
matrimonial  agencies  supported  by  the  state  whose  functions 
should  be  entirely  advisory,  and  which  wrould  endeavor  in  a 
systematic  way  to  bring  about  good  matches  and  prevent  bad 
ones.  The  selection  of  such  a  bureau  would  be  very  difficult, 
it  is  doutful  if  those  who  need  it  most  would  consult  it;  but  it 
would  at  least  be  an  attempt  to  meet  one  of  the  greatest  social 
needs.  We  can  hardly  expect  a  stable  family  when  we  leave 
its  founding  to  luck  or  blind  sentiment  which  ignores  all  con¬ 
siderations  of  reason.  There  should  be  more  study  of  personal- 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS  85 

\ 

ity  and  temperament,  and  society  should  cease  to  consider  its 
most  serious  interest  a  mere  matter  to  giggle  about. 

The  Chief  Failure.  But  tho  homes  might  not  be  as  happy 
as  they  might  be,  children  might  grow  up  in  them  somewhat 
normally  and  successfully.  The  worst  failure  of  the  home  is  not 
in  the  relations  of  husband  and  wife  but  when  it  fails  to  rightly 
develop  children.  The  home  exists  for  this;  if  it  fail  in  this  noth¬ 
ing  else  can  redeem  it.  It  is  becoming  notorious  that  children 
are  growing  up  in  many  American  homes  very  .much  as  they 
might  on  the  streets';  there  is  but  little  or  no  control,  discipline 
or  guidance.  Much  indignation  has  been  exprest  towards  land¬ 
lords  who  refuse  to  rent  property  to  families  with  x  children. 
Their  objection  is  not  to  children  but  to  destructive  children  who 
are  uncontrold  by  their  parents.  Children  need  culture,  training, 
restraint  far  more  than  the  young  of  any  animal  yet  a  cat 
mother  gives  better  rearing  to  her  kittens  than  some  mothers 
do  to  their  children.  The  o’d  training  of  children  was  too  se¬ 
vere  but  many  modern  parents  go  to  the  opposite  extreme. 

The  Corner  Stone  of  Civilization.  Our  whole  civilization 
rests  upon  the  home.  If  that  fails  we  are  headed  back  to  bar¬ 
barism  or  worse.  No  great  achievements,  either  individual  or 
social  are  possible  if  the  home  fails  to  do  its  work,  and  there  is 
nothing  to  take  its  place.  YvTe  can  and  should  relieve  motherhood 
of  much  of  its  drudgery,  its  burden,  its  isolation,  and  medical 
and  domestic  science  are  doing  it.  To  rear  a  family  should  be 
beyond  all  comparison  the  most  attractive  occupation  for  women 
or  for  any  human  being,  for  in  it  centers  every  other  hope  of 
humanity.  We  should  frankly  recognize  the  fact  and  act  accord¬ 
ingly. 

The  New  Woman.  Having  in  mind  the  importance  and  the 
needs  of  the  home,  many  have  regarded  with  alarm  the  appear¬ 
ance  of  thG  “New  Woman.”  No  one  seems  to  know  exactly  what 
she  is,  or  how  she  differs  from  the  diviner  type  we  have  always 
had,  but  the  mothers  of  the  past  have  been  so  excellent  that  the 
world  fears  any  change.  It  cannot  but  be  better  that  women 
should  be  more  economicaTy  independent;  they  should  not  be 
even  tempted  to  marry  an  unworthy  man  for  the  sake  of  a  home, 
for  that  cannot  bring  a  real  home.  She  should  be  able  to  support 
herself  for  even  marriage  may  bring  her  a  condition  where  she 
may  have  to  support  herself  and  others.  Her  economic  depen¬ 
dence  should  not  compel  her  to  live  with  a  husband  who  be¬ 
comes  a  brute.  She  needs  political  independence,  for  many  wo¬ 
men  have  to  live  outside  of  a  home  and  have  precisely  the  same 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


Z6 

rights  and  the  same  need  of  a  voice  in  making  the  laws  which 
govern  them  that  men  have.  And  the  normal  woman,  after  she 
has  reared  her  family,  has  many  years  of  magnificent  possibility 
for  public  s'ervice  which  we  cannot  afford  to  lose. 

Competing  with  the  home.  Economic  and  social  progress 
has  brought  about  mal-adjustments  which  make  indispensable 
institutions  compete  with  the  home.  Practically  no  .money  can 
be  made  at  home  now>  all  bread-winning  has  to  be  elsewhere. 
With  the  increast  cost  of  living,  wages  cannot  keep  up  but  are 
relatively  failing  and  the  father’s  wages  are  insufficient.  If  the 
mother  earns  anything  she  must  be  away  from  home,  making  the 
performance  of  her  duties  impossible.  When  the  mother  has 
leisure,  society  calls  her  away  from  home  increasingly.  To  de¬ 
prive  her  of  social  joys  and  privileges  is  unthinkable,  at  least  no 
man  would  suggest  it,  but  it  does  sometimes  seem  as  tho  society 
did  not  have  a  wholesome  effect  on  motherhood.  (It  is  even  said 
that  in  extreme  cases,  some  women  find  a  poodle  dog  more  con¬ 
genial  than  a  babe.)  A  man’s  work  has  aAvays  taken  him  away 
from  the  home,  and  no  improvement  is  in  sight.  Often ’education, 
even,  wars  against  the  home  by  taking  children  away  from  it. 
From  6  to  14  children  are  away  at  school  all  day.  After  that  many 
have  to  go  away  from  home  to  high  school  and  nearly  all  for 
aollege  or  professional  training. 

Happy  Homes.  While  the  home  should  be  supported  from 
a  sense  of  duty,  human  nature  is  too  weak  for  that.  Unless  the 
home  is  happy  it  must  fail  of  its  greatest  purpose  and  achieve¬ 
ment.  Let  the  entire  family  make  this  an  object  and  it  will  not 
be  so  difficult.  Love,  kindness,  faithfulness  should  be  insepara¬ 
bly  associated  with  the  home,  but  more  is  needed.  Play  is  the 
most  potent  attraction  to  children  and  a7so  one  of  the  greatest 
forces  in  their  development.  The  happiest  memories  of  every 
childhood  are  associated  with  its  plays;  parents  cannot  afford 
to  be  indifferent  to  them  and  money  spent  on  toys  is  not  wasted. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  provide  expensive  toys.  The  finer  the  toys 
the  less  there  is  for  imagination  to  do:  a  rag  doll  is  more  likely 
to  make  an  artist  than  its  finest  French  competitor.  Toys  should 
be  suggestive.  The  children  who  have  to  leave  home  for  their 
happiest  play  are  largely  deprived  of  what  a  home  should  be  to 
them;  amusements  away  from  home  are  a  most  formidable  com¬ 
petitor.  Many  parents  make  the  mistake  of  over-feeding  and  over¬ 
clothing  their  children  while  denying  them  the  infinitely  greater 
spiritual  values  of  assisted  and  supervised  play.  The  unhapplest 
home  is  where  the  children  do  not  play  happily. 


( 


\ 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS  8 7 

Wil!  the  Home  Survive.  Many  earnest  students  of  these 
problems  are  seriously  asking  this  question.  It  is  useless  to  mini¬ 
mize  the  difficulties  and  the  dangers;  they  are  real  and  appar¬ 
ently  inescapable.  But  solution  must  be  found;  humanity  has 
progrest  too  far  to  be  sacrificed  by  its  own  achievements.  The 
school  can  b’e  made  to  supplement  the  home  instead  of  compete 
with  it;  and  the  same  is  true  of  many  other  foes.  It  is  not 
necessary  that  the  home  should  be  a  prison  whose  inhabitants 
never  leave  it.  We  need  such  adjustments  that  children  leaving 
home  temporarily  should  return  to  it  with  increasing  joy  and 
yearning.  There  should  be  “no  place  like  home.” 

The  Greatest  Danger.  These  things  which  compete  with 

0 

the  home  or  attract  children  away  from  it  are  not  the  chief 
perils.  Indifference  as  to  what  is  going  on,  careless  drifting, 
blindly  ignoring  patent  facts  and  their  results, — these  are  the 
chief  perils.  The  problems  are  not  inso  uble  but  they  will  re¬ 
quire  intelligence  and  earnestness  and  moral  effort  worthy  of 
the  great  end  to  be  achieved. 

What  is  the  Remedy?  Prohibiting  divorce  would  not  pre¬ 
vent  the  causes  which  lead  to  it;  punishing  chose  who  marry 
unwisely  is  superfluous.  The  only  remedy  is  character.  Th* 
ultimate  dependence  for  marital  happiness  is  not  lov'e  but 
character.  Where  love  is  not  merited,  unworthy  character  makes 
it  a  tragedy  even  if  it  survive.  Many  a  couple  have  fallen  in 
love  after  marriage, — a  deeper,  truer  love — because  of  the  dis¬ 
covery  of  higher,  nobler  traits  of  character  not  discerned  before. 
Many  who  married  with  douts  and  misgivings  have  entered  inte 
fullness  of  joy  because  character  was  true  and  genuine  and 
stood  the  tests.  Youth  must  know  that  unworthy,  selfish,  unlov¬ 
able  character  can  never  bring  happiness  in  marriage  nor  is 
any  other  life  relation.  It  is  never  too  late  to  improve  character. 
Good  common  sense  may  do  much.  Many  causes  of  marital 
unhappiness  might  be  avoided  by  good  sense  and  tact.  Reso¬ 
lution  to  make  the  best  of  it  often  avoids  shipwreck.  In  ideal 
marriage  each  will  is  surrendered  to  the  other  and  th'ey  coalesce 
more  or  less  into  one;  a  firm,  a  partnership  in  which  neither  has 
exclusive  control.  A  serious  effort  to  agree  will  often  work 
wonders.  But  all  these  mean  character, — the  ultimate  depes- 
dence. 

STUDY  ON  I. 

Suggested  Questions  To  Aid  Discussion. 

1.  Why  is  the  family  fundamental?  2.  Cou’d  not  children  be 
reared  in  hospitals  or  public  institutions?  3.  How  long  does 


/ 


%$  •  UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 

*  *» 

legal  infancy  continue?  4.  Compare  the  length  of  infancy  of  the 
human  species  with  that  of  a  few  animals.  5.  Why  do  birds  build 
nests?  6.  Is  it  necessary  that  the  mother  be  not  attracted  from 
the  home?  Why?  7.  How  could  civilized  peoples  show'  their 
appreciation  of  the  mother?  8.  Does  every  divorce  mean  the 
failure  of  a  family?  9.  Should  divorce  be  more  restricted?  10. 
Woukl  that  solve  the  problem?  11.  If  the  divorce  rate  keeps  on 
increasing  what  will  become  of  the  nation?  12.  Why  should 
there  be  proportionately  more  divorces  in  the  United  States 
than  in  all  the  rest  of  the  world  combined?  13.  Should  marriage 
require  the  consent  of  parents?  14.  Should  any  state  agency 
be  established  to  facilitate  better  marriages?  15.  Do  those  who 
might  make  good  matches  have  adequate  opportunities  to  meet? 
16.  Is  a  home  v/hich  rears  bad  citizens, — that  is,  children  un¬ 
controlled  and  undeveloped, — vrnrse  than  divorc'e?  17.  How  far 
is  a  cat  boxing  the  ears  of  her  kittens  an  example  for  human 
mothers?  18.  Make  a  list  of  things  which  would  relieve  mothers 
of  part  of  their  burdens.  19.  What  are.the  most  essential  things 
required  of  the  mothers?  20.  Should  she  ignore  other  calls? 
21.  What  do  you  understand  by  the  “New  Woman?”  22.  Will 
economic  independence  of  women  make  them  less  apt  to  marry 
and  more  apt  to  seek  divorce?  23.  Make  a  list  of  kinds  of  work 
which  interfere  with  the  home.  24.  Make  a  list  of  social  re¬ 
quirements'  ditto.  25.  Make  a  list  of  amusements  ditto.  26. 
Should  the  mother  be  a  prisoner  in  the  home?  27.  May  a  home 
b-e  so  happy  that  a  mother  would  not  miss  outside  attractions? 
28.  Make  a  list  of  things  which  might  compensate  a  mother  for 
staying  close  at  home.  29.  Is  play  in  the  home  a  necessity  or 
an  obstruction  30  Is  the  home  in  danger?  31.  Is  a  very  selfish 
person  capable  of  genuine,  enduring  love?  32.  Why  must  the 
ultimate  dependence  for  the  permanence  of  the  home  be  on 
character?  33.  Do  we  always  love  tkose  who  are  worthy? 

REFERENCES 

Lee:  Play  in  Education,  Chapter  XIX. 

Marden:  Woman  in  the  Home. 

Towne:  Social  Problems,  Chapters  XII. 

Ellwood:  Sociology  and  Social  Problems,  Chapters  II — VII. 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


S9 

II.  CIVILIZATION  AND  THE  USE  OF  LEISURE. 

Nature  of  the  Problem.  The  persistent  teaching  of  educa¬ 
tors  and  psychologists  is  at  last  awakening  tlie  public  to  tne 
importance  of  the  right  use  of  leisure.  When  at  work  we  are 
under  restraint,  compulsion,  we  are  not  our  real  selves;  at 
lesiure  we  are  free,  our  acts  are  spontaneous  and  natural,  we 
are  our  real  selves.  What  we  do  depends  on  our  work;  what 
we  are  depends  on  our  use  of  leisure.  At  leisure  we  rest  because 
the  will  is  not  under  constraint.  Aesop  long  ago  told  us  in  the 
fable  that  when  the  “Bow  is  always  bent  it  will  break.”  The 
gospel  of  relaxation  has  long  been  preacht  by  physicians  and 
psychologists,  but  no  where  is  it  needed  as  much  as  in  America. 

Leisure  The  Building  Time.  At  work  we  tear  down;  at 
leisure  we  build  up.  It  is  not  surprising,  then,  that  the  right 
use  of  leisure  should  be  so  important  to  growth,  to  the  keeping 
up  of  strength  and  vigor.  And  since  it  controls  our  capacity 
for  work,  our  leisure  is  as  important  as  our  work.  Prof.  James 
somewhere  endorses  the  statement  that  we  learn  to  swim 
in  winter  and  skate  in  summer.  That  is,  we  utilize  all  ex¬ 
perience  after  it  occurs  if  there  is  time  and  opportunity;  or  in 
other  words,  if  a  normal  amount  of  leisure  be  provided.  A 
justice  of  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  once  said,  “A  man  can  do 
a  year’s  work  in  ten  months  but  he  cannot  do  it  in  eleven.” 
Recreating  the  body,  keeping  up  vigor  and  force,  health  and 
energy  are  as  essential  as  the  work  itself,  and  even  more. 
Leisure  time,  then,  is  as  important  as  work  time. 

Play  and  Personality.  No  satisfactory  definition  of  play  can 
be  given,  but  we  do  not  need  one  as  everyone  knows  it  by  ex¬ 
perience.  Since  we  are  our  real  selves  only  when  at  leisure  it  is 
evident  that  relaxation  must  be  necessary  to  normal  growth. 
Under  constant  pressure  and  constraint  we  can  never  know 
what  wre  really  are.  A  chi’d  deprived  of  a  normal  amount  of  play 
can  never  become  its  full  and  real  self.  This  is  true  even  of 
adults,  but  is  far  more  true  of  children. 

P!ay  and  Morality.  No  moral  discipline  for  children  is  equal 
to  play.  Playing  with  others,  team  work,  affords  more  oppor¬ 
tunities  for  moral  training  than  all  the  rest  of  life.  Froebel  said 
that  play  is  the  purest  and  most  spiritual  activity  of  man. 
“Playing  fair”  is  the  finest  moral  training  to  which  children  are 
susceptible.  To  be  ruled  out  of  the  game  means  a  direr  woe  to 
a  child  than  fire  and  brimstone  to  an  adult.  To  the  Greeks  their 
games  were  religious  exercises. 

Chicago’s  Experiment.  After  many  years  of  effort  by  so- 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


ciologists  a  public  play  ground  was  established  in  one  of  the 
worst  wards  in  Chicago.  As  a  result  crime  fell  off  in  that  ward 
53  per  cent  in  one  year.  No  such  a  moral  record  was  ever  made 
before.  In  another  case  this  c'ty  tore  down  a  whole  block  of 
business  buildings  and  establisht  there  a  public  playground.  She 
finds  playgrounds  are  cheaper  than  jails.  She  spends  over  a 
million  dollars  a  year  on  supervised  play,  and  sometimes  near  y 
twice  that. 

Piay  and  Health.  It  seems  almost  superfluous  to  discuss 
the  relations  of  play  and  health.  President  Wilson,  with  all  his 
heavy  burdens,  keeps  himself  in  perfect  condition  by  riding  and 
by  p  aying  golf.  Groos  says  that  children  do  not  play  because 
they  are  young,  but  that  they  are  young  so  that  they  may  play. 
Joseph  Lee  says,  “Play  is  not  a  luxury  but  a  necessity.  It  is  not 
something  a  child  likes  to  have  but  something  it  must  have  if 
it  is  to  grow  up.  It  is  more  than  an  essential  part  of  his 
©ducat’ on;  it  is  an  essential  part  of  the  law  of  his  growth, 
of  the  process  by  which  he  becomes  a  man  at  all.” 

Play  and  Mental  Development.  In  play,  a  child  without  ex¬ 
terna1  compulsion  puts  forth  its  utmost  endeavor,  and  so  in¬ 
creases  its  power  for  effort,  and  this  power  is  completely  under 
the  control  of  the  will.  “All  work  and  no  play  makes  Jack  a 
dull  boy”  is  an  old  and  universally  accepted  adage.  The  bright¬ 
est  intellectual  age  in  Eng'ish  history  was  the  age  of  Elizabeth, 
and  no  other  age  was  so  distinguished  for  play.  Elizabeth’s 
maids  of  honor  used  to  play  “tag.”  The  playground  is  every 
whit  as  essential  as  the  class  room  in  the  education  of  the 
child. 

Athletics.  We  spend  one  million  dollars  a  year  on  athletics, 
but  the  results  are  not  all  that  we  could  desire.  The  popularity 
of  games  depends  too  much  on  how  spectacular  they  are.  Those 
who  witness  games  are  not  taking  part  in  them  and  get  but 
little  good  from  them.  Many  games  afford  exercise  to  but  few 
students  and  those  not  the  ones  who  ne'ed  it  most.  Match 
games  are  often  accompanied  by  gambling,  and  professionalism 
is  hard  to  prevent.  Track  athletics  are  less  open  to  these  ob¬ 
jections  but  they  often  encourage  over  exertion.  It  seems  to 
be  provd  that  athletes  are  not  long  livd.  More  intelligent  super¬ 
vision  is  needed. 

Commercialized  Amusements.  Experience  has  abundantly 
provd  that  amusements  cannot  be  commercialized  without  great 
loss.  The  chief  purpose  becomes  not  deve’opment  but  gain; 
that  overshadows  every  other  consideration.  Where  there  is 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


9i 


competition  pandering  to  the  lowest  tastes  is  compeld,  and 
the  real  object  is  lost  sight  of.  Society  permits  and  even  ap¬ 
plauds  things  on  the  stage  which  it  would  not  tolerate  else¬ 
where.  We  allow  amusements  to  sink  to  the  lowest  level,  and 
then  many  well  meaning  people  oppose  the  amusements  instead 
of  the  degradation.  We  permit  our  most  potent  force  for  good 
to  become  one  of  our  most  potent  forces  for  evil.  Motion  pictures 
might  he  one  of  the  most  potent  and  inspiring  instrumentalities 
we  have  for  education  and  entertainment.  Great  works  of  litera¬ 
ture  can  be  filmd  so  as  to  rival  the  printed  page.  History  can 
be  reenacted  before  our  eyes  in  the  very  costume  and  custom 
of  the  time.  The  wonderful  world  seen  thru  the  miscroscope 
becomes  a  fairy  land  on  the  screen.  The  moving  picture  is  now 
the  third  business  in  magnitude  in  the  United  States,  but  very 
few  moving  picture  shows  are  of  a  higher  type  than  the  dime 
novel.  Norway  has  annext  the  motion  picture  to  the  school  sys¬ 
tem  and  prohibits  its  commercialization.  A  line  example. 

Saloons.  The  attraction  to  the  saloon  is  not  that  drinks  are 
sold  there;  it  is  a  social  institution,  and  tho  public  opinion 
generally  considers  it  one  of  the  worst  institutions,  its  chief 
attractive  force  is  due  to  the  fact  that  it  ministers  to  a  social 
need.  If  leisure  is  not  utilized  in  a  better  way  it  will  be  in  a 
worse  way.  The  German  beer  garden,  to  which  the  whole 
family  goes,  is  better  than  the  saloon  tho  it  is  far  from  ideal. 
It  seems  to  be  very  difficult  to  replace  the  public  dance  hall 
with  anything  better;  it  is  easy  to  get  better  things  but  not 
the  patronage;  when  commercia'ized  it  is  a  social  menace. 
Billiards  and  bowling  alleys  are  excellent  and  wholesome 
games,  but  when  commercialized  they  are  generally  opposed 
by  good  people.  The  only  way  to  prevent  commercializing 
amusements  is  to  furnish  them  at  public  expense. 

Soldier’s  Leisure.  We  have  found  that  so'diers  cannot 
endure  the  terrific  strain  of  modern  war  if  no  better  use  he 
made  of  their  leisure  than  formerly.  To  make  nerve  and  muscle 
respond  and  endure  in  modern  warfare  care  must  be  taken 
which  was  not  dreamed  of  50  years  ago.  Recreation  must  keep 
pace  with  the  wear  and  tear  of  battle  .and  trench.  And  so  we 
are  spending  millions  for  the  renewal  of  the  soldiers  while 
they  rest,  and  we  have  to  do  so  if  we  are  to  have  efficient 
armies.  Napoleon  and  Grant  said  that  it  is  the  “Spirit  of  the 
Army”  that  wins  victories,  the  “morale”  of  an  army  is  a  matter 
of  first  importance;  but  these  depend  chiefly  on  the  use  made 
of  leisure. 


92 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


Leisure  Must  Be  Protected.  It  is  a  common,  saying  that 
work  ennobles  but  over-work  degrades.  We  must  have  leisure; 
this  is  a  fundamental  law  of  our  being;  we  cannot  escape  it; 
we  cannot  greatly  modify  it.  Even  if  some  workmen  do  make 
a  ruinous  use  of  leisure,  all  do  not.  Even  if  the  idleness  of 
some  children  is  a  measureless  curse  we  cannot  rob  childhood 
of  its  birthright — the  opportunity  for  spontaneous  growth  and 
development.  Even  if  the  opportunities  of  leisure  cannot  be 
utilized  we  cannot  afford  to  sell  them  to  greed. 

The  use  of  leisure  must  be  spontaneous,  voluntary,  free. 
To  compel  recreation,  to  make  it  a  task  changes  its  character 
and  impairs  its  value.  Tho  we  must  prevent  excesses,  leisure 
must  remain  inviolate;  leisure  must  be  leisure. 

The  Adult  Attitude.  Older  people  get  so  interested  in  work 
that  it  becomes  play  to  them.  Samuel  Johnson  says  “It  is 
doutful  if  a  great  man  ever  accomplisht  his  life  work  without 
having  reacht  a  play  interest  in  it.”  We  must  “get  into  the 
game.”  But  the  doctors  are  tel'ing  us  there  is  no  substitute 
for  leisure.  In  the  rush  and  drive  of  American  life  men  are 
breaking  down  earlier  and  more  completely  than  among  any 
other  people.  Labor,  however  enjoyable,  cannot  be  a  substi¬ 
tute  for  leisure;  it  affords  no  time  for  relaxation  or  renewal. 

But  the  worst  thing  is  when  the  adult,  because  he  is  inter¬ 
ested  in  his  work  and  finds  it  play  for  him,  insists  that  children 
should  do  the  same.  So  it  is  common  for  older  people  to  be 
not  only  indifferent  to  the  right  use  of  leisure,  but  object  to 
anybody  having  any  at  all.  They  do  not  distinguish  between 
leisure  and  idleness. 

An  Ancient  Testimony.  We  are  not  left  to  guess  work  about 
this;  it  has  all  been  fully  tested  out  by  experience.  The  story 
which  Xenophon  tells  us  of  the  education  of  Cyrus  shows  that 
one  cause  of  the  development  of  the  Persian  empire  was  the 
wise  use  of  leisure.  But  ev'en  if  that  story  be  somewhat  ideal¬ 
ized  there'  is  no  question  as  to  Athenian  education.  No  nation 
ever  gave  so  much  time,  attention,  and  effort  to  the  utilization 
of  leisure  as  the  Athenians  did.  .And  no  people  ever  had  so  much 
leisure.  The  Greek  business  man  usually  closed  his  place,  of 
business  at  2  p.  m.,  and  spent  the  afternoon’s  leisure  -at  games 
or  listening  to  the  philosophers,  poets,  or  statesmen.  The  great 
Greek  tragedies  were  given  at  public  expense, — they  wou’d  have 
been  impossible  otherwise — ,  and  great  audiences  sat  all  day  in 
the  sun  on  hard  stone  seats  listening  to  them.  And  yet  the  ag¬ 
gregate  of  Athenian  business  activities  is  amazing.  Her  fleets 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


93 


covered  every  sea,  and  her  manufacturing  and  commerce  sus¬ 
tained  them.  They  excelled  all  the  ancient  world  in  all  lines  of 
productive  activity  and  yet  had  more  leisure  than  any  other  peo¬ 
ple  ever  had  before  or  since.  The  secret  of  Athens,  of  the  “glory 
that  was  Greece”  was  her  wise  use  of  leisure.  Her  leisure  was 
not  wasted  time  but  the  chief  source  of  her  wonderful  mental  and 
physical  energy. 

Leisure  Time  Not  Lost  Time.  A  boy  scout  master  in  Iowa 
askt  a  farmer  to  let  his  boy  go  on  a  week’s  “hike”  with  the  other 
boys.  The  farmer  was  about  to  give  an  indignant  refusal; — to 
think  of  losing  a  whole  week  from  work! — when  he  was  askt: 
“Suppose  that  for  the  remaining  51  weeks  the  boy  should  work 
with  greater  willingness,  interest,  and  zest,  would  the  week 
really  be  lost?”  The  farmer  tried  it,  and  afterwards  it  was  a 
fixt  custom.  The  fact  was  that  the  wreek’s  hike  was  the  most 
productive  week  of  the  whole  year.  When  to  that  is  added  the 
mental,  physical,  and  spiritual  effect  on  the  character  and  de¬ 
velopment  of  the  boy  it  is  strange  that  fathers  do  not  see  the 
truth  more  readily.  Lack  of  leisure  and  the  proper  use  of  it 
are  the  chief  causes  of  the  drift  to  the  city  which  has  become 
one  of  the  overshadowing  problems  of  our  time.  No  man  can 
work  all  the  time  and  do  his  full  work  or  his  best. 

P!ay  is  Life  to  the  Child.  Practically  all  the  happiness  a 
child  experiences  is  in  its  play.  It  enjoys  work  only  as  it  can 
make  play  of  it,  which  is  very  seldom.  To  rob  a  child  of  play  is 
to  rob  it  of  happiness  as  well  as  its  spiritual  growth.  *  Children 
not  only  desire  play  but  they  hunger  for  it,  and  p1  ay-hunger  is 
just  as  imperative  as  any  other  hunger.  To  oppose  it  is  to  invite 
if  not  compel  disaster.  Play,  then,  is  the  birthright  of  every 
child.  Without  it  he  cannot  be  a  normal  child  or  grow  to  normal 
manhood  or  womanhood.  The  child  deprived  of  a  happy  child¬ 
hood  can  never  be  compensated  afterwards.  Beyond  all  question 
child  labor  laws  are  just  and  expedient.  Poverty  cannot  prevent 
children  from  playing,  tho  it  may  affect  their  playing.  A  rag 
doll,  however,  plus  imagination  may  give  far  better  results  in 
development  than  the  finest  mechanidal  contrivance  money  can 
buy. 

Play  and  Democracy.  All  p^y  is  democratic.  On  the  play¬ 
ground  the  aristocrat  and  the  ragmuffin  compete  on  equal  terms 
and  the  hero  is  the  one  who  can  do  things.  When  they  choose 
sides  there  is  no  respect  of  persons,  only  ability  and  worth 
counts.  No  finer  school  for  democracy  is  conceivable.  Fairness, 
team  work,  equality,  cooperation, — what  school  for  these  can 


94 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


compare  with  the  playground?  We  must  learn  self  restraint,  we 
must  learn  how  to  use  freedom;  these,  children  cannot  learn 
while  at  work  for  there  all  is  obedience,  restriction,  subordina¬ 
tion.  Labor  is  chiefly  valuable  for  its  objective  results,  its  wages, 
its  achievements;  play  is  valuable  for  its  subjective  resuds;  it 
develops  the  worker  himself  and  increases  his  capacity  for  work. 
Children  do  not  play  in  Germany  as  they  do  here.  If  democracy 
is  to  triumph  we  must  give  more  intelligent  attention  to  play. 
It  is  a  part  of  good  citizenship. 

The  Use  of  Leisure.  It  is  not  mere  leisure  that  we  need, 
but  a  wise  use  of  leisure.  A  playground  dominated  by  bullies 
cannot  realize  our  expectations.  While  leisure  is  a  dominating 
factor  in  human  life  its  value  depends  entirely  upon*how  it  is 
used.  The  fire  which  cooks  a  meal  may  also  burn  a  city;  its 
value  depends  entirely  on  its  use.  Play  must  be  directed,  super¬ 
vised,  if  we  are  to  get  right  results  from  it.  We  cannot  turn 
leisure  over  to  the  accumulation  of  evil  influences  and  expect 
its  normal  results.  Least  of  all  can  we  commercialize  our  use 
of  leisure,  our  recreations  and  amusements,  and  escape  their 
complete  perversion.  The  Greeks  used  their  old  men  in  super¬ 
vising  play,  for  it  kept  them  young  while  it  guided  the  children. 

The  great  Perversion.  We  must  face  the  fact,  then,  that 
while  the  use  of  leisure  is  the  most  potent  force  we  have  in  mem- 
tal,  physical,  and  moral  development  we  are  allowing  it  to  be  so 
commercialized  that  it  is  failing  to  fulfill  its  purpose.  In  com¬ 
mercialized  amusements  no  ideal  can  be  considered  unless  it 
pays;  no  excellence  is  sought  unless  it  is  profitable.  We  are 
not  only  faking  to  use  leisure  wisely  but  are  allowing  it  to  be 
used  against  us.  One  of  the  arguments  against  changing  from 
a  ten  to  an  eight  hour  day  was  that  the  two  hours  would  not 
only  be  wasted  but  much  of  it  would  be  spent  in  dissipation. 
Whether  a  further  change  to  a  six  hour  day  would  be  advan¬ 
tageous  or  not  depends  entirely  on  how  it  would  be  spent.  We 
are  prohibiting  child  labor,  and  rightly,  but  are  giving  but  little 
attention  to  how  the  children’s  idle  hours  are  to  be  spent.  There 
is  no  greater  curse  than  id’eness.  Child  labor  may  be  far  less 
an  evil  than  child  crime.  We  may  undo  in  hours  of  leisure  what 
we  do  in  hours  of  labor. 

STUDY  ON  II. 

Suggested  Questions  to  Aid  Discussion. 

1.  Why  are  w‘e  our  real  selves  only  when  we  are  free?  2. 
Could  one  be  safely  trusted  in  business  who  was  dishonest  in 
play?  Why?  3.  Why  is  clean  athletics  so  important?  4.  Ex- 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


95 


plain  how  we  learn  to  swim  in  winter  or  skate  in  summer.  5. 
What  effect  wou’d  being  extremely  busy  all  winter  have?  6. 
Is  keeping  up  one’s  strength  and  vigor  a  part  of  this  year’s 
work  or  next  year’s  7.  Show  why  one’s  individuality  or  per¬ 
sonality  is  used  more  in  play  than  in  work.  8,  Is  use  necessary 
to  the  development  of  any  power  or  quality?  Why?  9.  Can  you 
see  any  reason  why  the  Greeks  thought  games  were  religious 
exercises?  10.  Discuss  Joseph  Lee’s  statement.  11.  Why  should 
overworking  Jack  make  him  dull.  12.  Does  athletics  get  all  to 
exercise?  13.  Are  athletic  sports  valued  chief  y  as  a  spectacle 
or  an  exercise?  14.  Why  should  commercializing  an  amusement 
render  it  almost  or  quite  valueless?  15.  What  purpose  must 
necessarily  predominate  in  commercialized  amusements  or 
sports?  16.  How  would  you  remedy  it?  17.  What  do  you  think 
of  the  Norway  plan  as  to  motion  pictures?  18.  Must  the  saloon 
be  replaced-  in  order  to  secure  the  full  benefit  of  its  removal? 
Why?  19.  Why  are  we  spending  so  much  to  give  soldiers  whole¬ 
some  recreation?  20.  Can  a  child  grow  up  normally  without 
play?  21.  Should  we  make  a  provision  for  it  the  same  as  for  other 
necessities?  22.  Why  do  not  old  people  play?  23.  What  effect 
would  the  Greek  plan  of  making  the  o’d  men  supervisors  of 
play  have  on  both  the  young  and  the  old?  24.  Can  you  show 
that  leisure  time  well  used  is  not  lost  time?  .25.  Show  that  play 
is  especially  necessary  to  children  in  a  democracy.  26.  How 
may  leisure  be  perverted?  27.  How  may  it  best  be  utilized? 

REFERENCES  , 

Lee:  Play  in  Education,  Chapters  I — X.  XLVI,  XLVII. 

Johnson:  Education  by  Plays  and  Games,  Chaps.  I — III. 


* 


/ 


96 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


III.  CONSERVATION  OF  LIFE. 

INTRODUCTION 

Ancient  Views.  Sickness  was  once  considered  a  direct 
visitation  from  God.  It  was  argued  in  the  book  of  Job  that 
Satan  was  the  immediate  cause,  but  even  then  God  had  per¬ 
mitted  it.  Sickness,  as  well  as  other  misfortunes,  was  consid¬ 
ered  prima  facie  proof  that  th'e  sufferer  or  some  one  else  had 
done  something  to  deserve  it.  The  sick  were  sometimes  punisht 
to  make  sure  that  the  punishment  was  adequate.  Sickness  was 
sometimes  attributed  to  evil  spirits  and  various  incantations  and 
charms  were  used.  With  such  views  prevalent  the  sick  could 
not  expect  much  intelligent  sympathy  or  care. 

The  Modern  View.  We  now  hold  that  health  is  normal  and 
sickness  preventable;  altho  some  causes  are  not  yet  satisfacto¬ 
rily  known.  The  “evil  spirits”  are  germs,  malnutrition,  failure  of 
organs  to  function  naturally,  etc.  Mental  states  may  greatly 
interfere  with  or  modify  bodily  functions;  emotions  reverberate 
thru  the  entire,  body.  Most  sickness  is  now  held  to  be  pre¬ 
ventable  by  cleanliness,  proper  care,  -and  correct  living.  In 
stead  of  being  due  to  a  visitation  of  a  mysterious  Providence  it 
is  usually  due  to  natural  and  preventable  causes.  Hygiene 
sanitation,  and  prophylaxis  are  counted  among  the  most  elemen¬ 
tary  duties-  of  life. 

Lengthening  Life.  Not  long  ago  the  length  of  a  generation 
was  estimated  at  about  33  years.  Now  it  is  nearly  50  years. 
This  is  chiefly  due  to  the  better  care  of  infants  and  small 
children.  It  is  very  doubtful  if  the  range  of  life  is  extending 
very  much.  In  David’s  time  it  was  70  years  (three-score<-and- 
ten)  and  sometimes  80  years.  Break  downs  in  the  prime  of  life 
were  never  so  common  as  now.  While  medical  science  has 
achieved  wonders  in  combating  disease,  the  average  person  was 
never  more  careless  of  health.  Nearly  all  deaths  are  premature. 
While  the  causes  of  all  diseases  are  not  yet  known  we  know 
that  many  of  them  can  be  prevented.  It  is  now  thought  that 
the  normal  life  should  be  at  least  100  years. 

Partial  Death.  But  it  would  be  of  no  advantage  to  the 
human  race  if  the  span  of  life  were  extended  to  100  years  unless 
senility  were  also  delayed.  In  the  Greek  myth,  Eos,  the  Dawn, 
obtained  from  Zeus  the  gift  of  immortality  for  her  husband 
Tithonus,  but  neglected  to  ask  for  perpetual  youth.  So  he  grew 
older  and  older,  more  fee^e  and  helpless,  but  could  not  die. 
Finally  as  a  blessed  relief  he  was  turned  into  a  grasshopper! 
Without  strength,  vigor,  activity,  immortality  would  be  the 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


} 


97 

greatest  imaginable  curse.  Death -is  not  the  worst  calamity. 

Deferred  Penalties.  Few  violations  of  the  laws  of  health 
resu't  in  immediate  death.  Youth  usually  thinks  it  can  ignore 
things  injurious  to  health  because  they  do  not  cause  immediate 
death.  In  many  ways  men  defy  the  laws  of  health  with  apparent 
impunity  till  suddenly  there  comes. a  break  down,  and  life  be¬ 
comes  a  burden  and  a  curse.  Its  work  is  stopt  just  when  it  is 
most  interesting  and  important  and  the  years  that  linger  on  are 
fruitless  and  barren.  Not  less  tragical  are  the  more  numerous 
cases  where  the  powers  dependent  on  health  break  down  grad¬ 
ually  and  the  capacity  for  both  work  and  enjoyment  decrease 
until  the  poor  victim  prays  for  deliverance. 

The  Laws  of  Health.  The  essential  laws  of  health  are  now 
comparatively  well  known.  They  pertain  chiefly  to  eating, 
clean  iness,  exercise  and  recreation.  A  text  book  of  applied 
physiology  or  hygiene  gives  abundant  information.  A  few  things 
only  will  be  mentioned  here. 

Eating;  Quantity.  Most  people  eat  far  more  than  they  need. 
The  general  practice  is  to  eat  till  the  stomach  begins  to  com¬ 
plain.  But  in  normal  health  you  have  already  eaten  too  much 
before  the  stomach  protests.  All  food  eaten  in  excess  of  needs 
exhausts  vitality  instead  of  sustaining  it.  Many  foods  do  not 
furnish  as  much  energy  as  is  consumed  in  digesting  and  as¬ 
similating  them.  The  stomach  cannot  be  habitually  overloaded 
without  a  gradual  loss  of  energy  and  capacity  for  efficient 
work.  For  those  who  are  tempted  in  this  way  the  only  safe  plan 
ig  to  quit  hungry. 

Essential  Foods.  The  materials  required  for  the  subsistence 
of  the  human  body  are,  proteins,  (pro-te-ins)  carbohydrates, 
minerals  and  fats.  A  “balanced  ration”  is  a  meal  consisting  of 
food  containing  a  proper  proportion  of  these  food  elements. 
An  average  would  be  approximately  as  follows  :* proteins,  6.4  oz.; 
carbohydrates,  16  oz.;  fats,  6.4  oz.;  minerals,  1.6  oz.;  total  30.4 
oz.  or  nearly  two  pounds.  Overeating  is  usually  more  or  less 
necessary  in  order  to  get  enuf  of  the  essential  elements.  Some 
day,  possibly,  those  who  prepare  our  meals  will  give  just  what 
we  need  so  that  we  shall  save  expense  and  get  greater  energy, 
for  none  will  be  wasted  in  digesting  useless  food. 

Mastication.  If  food  is  not  properly  chewed  a  greater 
amount  of  energy  is  required  for  its  digestion.  We  can  live  on 
’ess  food  if  we  chew  it  longer.  What  we  eat  does  not  become 
real  food  until  it  is  digested,  so  what  we  do  not  digest  simply 
wastes  energy.  Food  not  pulv'erized  by  the  teeth  must  be  dis- 


98 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


solved  in  the  stomach  before  the  body  can  make  use  of  it, 
and  the  latter  requires  very  much  more  energy  than  the  former. 
This  makes  the  condition  of  the  teeth  a  matter  of  great  import¬ 
ance  to  health.  Much  wretched  illness  is  now  traced  to  de¬ 
fective  teeth. 

Cooking.  The  process  of  digestion  begins  in  the  kitchen. 
Instead  of  being  drudgery,-  cooking  is  one  of  the  very  highest 
and  most  vital  arts  of  life.  If  food  is  not  properly  cookt  all  the 
processes  which  follow  are  less  effective.  It  requires  less  well 
coolrt  food  to  support  the  body  because  more  of  it  can  be  utilized. 
Good  cooking,  then,  means  not  only  better  tasting  food  but 
greater  economy,  greater  energy,  and  a  longer  and  happier  life. 

Jovial  Meals.  Eating  and  matters  related  to  it,  then,  are 
among  the  greatest  interests  of  human  life.  Not  only  do  health 
and  the  prolongation  of  life  depend  upon  them,  but  the  energy 
which  makes  life  worth  while  is  even  more  dependent.  But  while 
eating  is  a  somewhat  serious  business  it  should  be  done  as 
hilariously  as  possible.  An  enjoyable  meal  is  likely  to  be  eaten 
more  slowly  and  be  better  digested;  jovial  meals  may  reduce 
expenses.  All  unpleasant  matters  should  be  resolutely  ban  is  lit 
from  the  table.  Eating  is  the  fundamental  process  of  life  ex¬ 
tension;  it  deserves  far  more  attention  than  it  gets. 

Sanitation.  In  recent  years  nothing  has  surpast  in  interest 
and  importance  the  achievements  of  sanitation.  The  chief  ob¬ 
stacles  to  the  building  of  the  Panama  Canal  were  not  th'e  en¬ 
gineering  difficulties,  tho  they  were  stupendous,  but  the  disease 
germs  lurking  in  the  miasmic  swamps.  Human  beings  could  not 
work  there  even  if  they  could  manage  to  live  there.  Both  there 
and  in  Cuba  the  yellow  fever  was  a  recurring  scourge;  now  it 
is  almost  unknown.  By  the  rigid  enforcement  of  sanitary  meas¬ 
ures  they  have  been  rendered  comparatively  healthy.  The  full 
significance  of  such  facts  is  beyond  the  power  of  words.  We 
cannot  measure  what  they  mean  for  human  happiness  and  pro¬ 
gress.  Large  portions  of  the  earth  which  have  in  all  past  time 
been  given  up  to  disease  and  the  inferior  races  resulting  are  now 
open  to  human  energy  and  have  entered  a  new  service  of  the 
r3.ce.  The  number  of  American  soldiers  killed  in  the  Hispano- 
American  war  was  insignificant  compared  with  the  number  who 
died  in  unsanitary  camps.  Sanitary  engineering  has  become  one 
of  the  most  useful  of  professions. 

Town  and  Country.  It  used  to  be  thought  that  the  greater 
healthulness  of  the  country  compensated  for  its  disadvantages 
in  other  respects.  But  the  examination  of  young  men  under  the 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


99 


selective  draft  lias  revealed  the  fact  that  country  boys  are  not  as 
healthy  and  vigorous  as  town  boys.  The  difference  is  chiefly 
due  no  doubt  to  the  greater  attention  given  to  athletics  and 
usually  to  sanitation  in  the  towns.  Back  yards,  stables,  and 
privies  do  not  war  in  vain  against  the  health  and  vigor  of  the 
rural  family;  they  may  easily  overbalance  all  the  advantages  of 
rural  residence.  Filth  and  disease  are  almost  correlative  terms; 
they  are  inseparable.  There  must  be  either  disease  or  a  lower¬ 
ing  of  vitality  wherever  there  is  filth,  for  it  cannot  exist  without 
being  communicated  to  air,  water  land  food. 

Flies.  The  common  housefly  is  the  greatest  spreader  o-j 
filth.  Their  existence  is  a  menace  to  human  life  and  is  more  or 
less  a  sanitary  disgrace,  or  would  be  if  the  facts  about  them 
were  more  generally  known.  They  are  the  very  embodiment  of 
filth  in  their  origin  >and  in  their  habits.  Not  only  that,  but  they 
are  the  greatest  carriers  of  disease  germs  we  have.  “Swat  the 
fiy”  has  become  a  familiar  campaign  cry,  but  it  is  not  fami'iar 
enuf.  The  truth  is  not  half  realized.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  other 
one  agency  does  as  much  to  shorten  human  life  and  diminish 
its  energy  and  efficiency. 

Tuberculosis.  In  the  United  States,  one-third  of  all  who  die 
between  18  and  45  are  victims  of  the  “White  Plague.”  As  this 
is  the  period  of  the  greatest  physical  vigor  this  death  rate  is  ap¬ 
palling.  From  one-seventh  to  one-tenth  of  the  human  race  die 
of  this?  one  disease.  There  are,  it  is  estimated,  one  million  peo¬ 
ple  in  the  United  States  suffering  with  it,  and  the  annual  cost 
is  about  $500,000,000.  10%  of  all  deaths  are  due  to  tuberculosis 
and  all  of  them  are  premature.  3,000  die  of  it  in  Oklahoma  every 
year,  and  230,000  will  ultimately  die  of  it  in  the  state.  Of 
270,000  school  children  examined  in  25  cities  nearly  17%  had 
tubercu’osis.  And  yet  it  is  strictly  preventable.  If  sufficient 
interest  could  be  aroused  it  could  easily  be  exterminated. 

Sanitoriums.  Tuberculous  patients  cannot  be  allowed  to 
enter  regular  hospitals  for  fear  of  infecting  other  patients. 
They  cannot  be  isolated  and  so  must  spread  the  disease  to  all 
about  them.  It  would  seem  brutal  to  kill  every  one  who  became 
affected  w'th  tuhercu’osis.  Is  it  any  less  brutal  to  compel  them 
to  kill  others,  to  murder  their  own  families,  to  go  at  large 
spreading  the  disease  everywhere?  A  sanitorium  with  proper 
facilities  cures  all  cases  in  the  earlier  stages  and  would  in  time 
greatly  check  the  disease.  New  York  requires  every  county  of 
35,000  inhabitants  to  maintain  one. 

Inoculation.  It  has  long  been  observed  that  persons  having 


100 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


had  certain  contagious  diseases  are  immune  to  them  afterwards. 
Each  disease  creates  in  the  body  an  anti-toxin  which  can  suc¬ 
cessfully  combat  the  germs  of  that  disease.  Inoculation  is  an 
attempt  to  produce  those  anti-toxins  by  artificial  means  and  the 

v 

results  have  been  remarkably  successful.  Small  pox  was  once 
one  of  the  greatest  scourges  of  the  race  but  is  nbw  no  longer 
feared.  Anti-typhoid  vaccination  has  proved  equally  successful. 
Up  to  ten  years  ago  cases  of  typhoid  in  the  United  States  army 
averaged  3  or  4  to  the  thousand.  Since  anti-typhoid  vaccination 
has  been  made  compulsory  in  the  army  the  disease  has  been 
almost  eradicated;  cases  now  numbering  only  3  to  the  hundred 
thousand.  It  was  announced  recently  that  in  the  French  army 
typhoid  fever  has  been  entirely  eliminated. 

Serum  Treatments.  In  addition  to  preventive  vaccination 
there  is  also  the  curative  type  known  as  “serum  treatment.” 
These  are  not  so  fully  developt  but  have  already  achievd  markt 
success,  especially  in  diphtheria,  tetanus,  and  hydrophobia  which 
no  longer  inspire  the  terror  they  once  did.  The  method  is  also 
used  in  the  plague,  cholera,  meningitis,  scarlet  fever,  whooping 
cough,  and  other  diseases.  Investigations  are  still  in  progress, 
and  much  greater  achievements  are  doutless  possible. 

Surgery.  Some  of  the  most  marvelous  achievements  of 
our  age  have  been  in  surgery.  Some  of  the  marvels  are  almost 
unbelievable.  Part  of  the  stomach  has  been  removed — in  one 
case  two-thirds  of  it — and  the  patient  livd.  Pieces  of  shell  have 
been  removed  from  the  heart  and  the  wound  sewd  up.  Bones 
have  been  replaced,  faces  restord,  portions  of  intestines  and 
other  parts  of  the  body  removd.  Skin  grafting  has  become 
common.  Bones  are  taken  from  one  body  and  grafted  into  an¬ 
other,  or  from  different  parts  of  the  same  body.  A  large  pro¬ 
portion  of  the  soldiers  wounded  in  battle  formerly  died  or  were 
incapacitated,  but  now  a  very  large  proportion  return  to  the 
ranks  again. 

Anti-Sepsis.  The  healing  of  wounds  is  chiefly  a  matter  of 
preventing  infection.  Surgical  success  is  chiefly  due  to  improvd 
anti  sepsis.  Many  wounds  would  heal  of  themselves  if  disease 
bacteria  could  be  kept  out.  One  of  the  greatest  discoveries  dur¬ 
ing  the  war  is  the  “Dakin-Carrel”  anti-septic  treatment.  Profes¬ 
sor  Robertson  of  the  University  of  California  has  recently  dis¬ 
covered  a  preparation  which  greatly  accelerates  the  process  of 
healing;  it  is  called  “Tethelin,”  and  is  made  from  th'e  pituitary 
body  in  the  brain. 

The  Nursing  Profession.  It  is  now  fully  recognized  that 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


IOI 


in  most  sickness,  care  or  nursing  is  as  essential  as  medical  treat¬ 
ment.  In  typhoid  fever,  for  example,  little  medication  is  needed 
except  in  complications;  the  doctor’s  skill  is  directed  to  the 
nursing.  The  nurse  supplements  the  doctor;  by  remaining  con¬ 
stantly  at  the  bedside  the  nurse  makes  the  doctor’s  presence 
constant  by  carrying  out  his  instructions.  Schools,  factories, 
communities  are  employing  nurses  whose  work  is  to  prevent 
sickness,  or  who  will  call  the  doctor  before  the  case  becomes 
serious.  Nursing  affords  a  surpassingly  useful  and  honorable 
profession  for  women  in  which  she  has  buV  little  competition 
with  men. 

Fresh  Air.  The  chief  remedy  for  tuberculosis  of  the  lungs 
is  fresh  air,  and  it  is  indispensable  in  many  other  diseases.  It 
is  especially  essential  in  keeping  up  the  bodily  vigor  which 
enables  the  body  to  resist  disease,  and  gives  greater  energy  and 
efficiency.  Air-tight  houses  are  comfortable  and  possibly  save 
fuel  but  they  are  not  fit  to  live  in.  It  is  especially  necessary  to 
have  school  rooms  and  sleeping  rooms  well  ventilated.  Fresh 
air  will  not  only  increase  your  energy  but  prolong  your  life. 

Aitruism  of  Medical  Men.  “No  discovery  in  medical  science 
has  ever  been  used  to  destroy  an  enemy.”  Medicine  ministers 
to  friend  and  foe  alike.  The  chronic  grumblers  who  can  find 
so  little  to  praise  in  their  fellow  men  should  study  the  work 
of  the  medical  profession.  It  is  they  alone  who  have  given  pre¬ 
vention  of  disease  more  prominence  than  curing  it.  They  have 
taken  the  sole  leadership  in  sanitation  and  in  all  efforts  to  keep 
the  world  healthy.  Yet  when  people  are  well  they  do  not  pay 
doctor  %  bills.  The  doctors  by  preventing  sickness  are  making 
their  profession  less  profitable  financially.  But  they  are  doing 
it  and  at  an  ever  increasing  rate.  It  is  deemed  a  part  of  good 
business  to  make  trade;  the  example  of  the  doctors  gives  one 
new  hope  for  the  future;  and  the  example  should  not  go  un¬ 
noticed  and  unhonored. 

A  Healthier  World.  The  chief  significance  of  a  healthier 
world  is  not  longer  life,  tlio  that  means  much  for  the  human 
race.  Its  chief  meaning  for  us  is  that  vigor  and  efficiency  of 
the  race  will  be  increased,  so  that  life  will  not  only  be  longer 
but  will  accomplish  far  more  work  while  it  lasts.  In  this  work 
every  one  has  a  duty.  Every  one  can  do  something  to  make  the 
world  more  healthy  and  wholesome.  And  the  reward  is  sure: 
for  in  this  cause  one  cannot  help  others  without  being  blest 
himself. 


102 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


STUDY  ON  III. 

Suggested  Questions  To  Aid  Discussion. 

1.  Is  suffering  ever  the  result  of  wrong  doing?  8.  Is  air¬ 
sickness  caused  by  violation  of  laws  of  health?  3.  Is  it  ever 

* 

causd  by  the  sins  of  our  ancestors?  4.  Why  is  taking  care  of 
health  one  of  the  first  duties  of  life?  5.  Can  one  violate  the 
Sixth  Commandment  by  carelessness  of  his  health?  6.  Is  every 
violation  of  health  laws  punisht?  7.  In  what  ways  may  such 
violations  be  punisht?  8.  Give  examples  where  violations  of 
laws  of  health  by  one  person  cause  sickness  and  suffering  to 
others.  9.  Should  one  ever  intentionally  expose  himself  to 
contagious  diseases?  Wily?  10.  Is  it  better  for  children  to 
have  the  measles,  whooping  cough,  chicken  pox,  etc.,  and  be 
done  with  them?  11.  What  is  the  deeper  meaning  of  the  old 

Greek  story  of  Tithonus?  12.  Why  should  the  Dawn  desire  an 

% 

endless  day?  What  part  of  life  corresponds  to  the  “Dawn?” 
13.  Would  we  be  more  careful  of  our  health  if  we  could  see  the 
penalty  of  every  transgression  of  its  laws?  14.  Why  can  a  bal¬ 
anced  ration  be  smaller  than 'an  unbalanced?  15.  Why  is  cook¬ 
ing  a  high  art?  16.  Why  are  good  teeth  so  important  to  child¬ 
ren?  17.  Could  one  live  without  appetite?  18.  How  do  you 
account  for  the  fact  that  town  boys  have  better  physique  than 
country  boys?  19.  What  is  the  remedy?  20.  Write  an  out¬ 
line  for  a  speech  on  “Swat  the  Fly.”  21.  What  is  the  best 
prevention  and  treatment  for  tuberculosis?  22.  How  can  you 
account  for  the  decrease  in  cases  of  sr^ill  pox?  23.  For  the 
decrease  in  cases  of  typhoid  fever?  24.  What  has  made  the 
improvements  in  surgery  possible?  25.  Should  every  girl  be 
taught  nursing?  26.  As  the  world  gets  healthier  what  will  be¬ 
come  of  the  medical  profession?  27.  What  is  the  chief  reason 
for  care  of  the  health? 


REFERENCES 

Lee:  Play  in  Education,  Epilog. 

Towne;  Social  Problems,  Chapters  XVI,  XVII. 
Hart:  Educational  Resources,  Chapter  V. 
O’Shea  &  Kellogg:  Making  Most  of  Life. 
Marden:  Be  Good  to  Yourself,  Chapters  I,  II,  III. 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


103 


IV.  PUBLIC  FINANCES. 

ilN  X  nU. L>U  U  J.  lUiV. 

Inefficiency.  Nowhere  else  does  representative  government 
show  greater  weakness  than  in  collecting  and  expending  funds 
Citizens  of  monarchies  tell  us  that  they  can  support  all  their 
royalty  and  aristocracy  and  still  run  their  governments  much 
more  cheaply  than  we  run  ours.  The  trouble  with  us  is  not  so 
much  dishonesty  as  slipshod  and  inefficient  methods.  There  is 
not  only  no  inherent  reason  why  democracies  should  cost  more 
than  other  governments  but  they  should  cost  less.  '  The  real 
trouble  is  that  so  many  people  are  not  informed  as  to  the  prin¬ 
ciples  of  either  collecting  or  expending  taxes.  The  people  can 
rule  but  they  cannot  use  their  power  wisely. 

Tax  Maxims.  One  is  that  “All  property  whatever  should 
bear  the  same  proportion  of  the  burdens  of  taxation.”  This  is 
apparently  just,  but  it  is  utterly  impossible.  Property  should  be 
classified  for  taxation,  each  class  with  a  different  rate.  Property 
which  pays  only  3  per  cent  cannot  be  taxt  2  per  cent,  while 
property  earning  20  per  cent  could  pay  that  rate  easily. 

Another  maxim  is,  “Each  should  be  taxt  according  to  the 
benefits  he  receives.”  Sounds  just,  but  how  can  the  benefits  be 
measured  or  estimated? 

Another  is,  “Each  should  be  taxt  according  to  his  ability  to 
pay.”  Shou'd  a  merchant  cha  ge  his  customers  according  to  whaL 
they  are  able  to  pay?  Even  if  this  principle  were  entirely  just 
how  could  “ability  to  pay”  be  measured?  It  is  not  a  simp’e  mat¬ 
ter.  Some  argue  that  the  best  measure  of  “ability”  is  expendi¬ 
tures.  That  would  depend  on  what  the  expenditures  were  for 
Unprofitable  expenditure  would  not  indicate  the  same  ability  as 
profitable  expenditure.  It  would  not  be  expedient  to  tax  large 
expenditures  if  they  were  for  charity,  or  for  doctor  bills,  etc. 

Another  maxim  is:  “Taxation  should  not  increase  the  cost 
of  the  necessaries  of  life,”  for  then  it  would  fall  too  heavily  on 
the  poor;  it  should  be  much  heavier  on  luxuries. 

Another  maxim  is,  “Taxes  should  be  indirect,”  so  the  people 
will  not  find  them  out.  Or,  “Raise  the  taxes  in  any  way  that  will 
arouse  the  least  opposition.”  These  are  mere  confessions  of  ig¬ 
norance  and  impotence. 

Shifting  of  Taxes.  Most  taxes  are  shifted,  and  must  be 
shifted.  A  merchant  must  add  his  taxes  to  the  price  of  his  goods 
just  as  he  would  any  other  expense.  He  does  not  pay  his  taxes 
out  of  profits  any  more  than  he  does  clerk  hire,  insurance,  rent, 
or  any  other  expense.  He  must  quit  a  business  unless  it  pays  all 


104 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


his  expenses  and  more;  that  is,  unless  he  can  make  his  customers 
pay  them.  When  a  people  tax  their  merchants,  then,  they  merely 
tax  themselves.  Every  man  must  shift  his  taxes  if  he  can,  so 
that  all  taxes  are  finally  paid  by  those  who  cannot  shift  them, — 
those  who  cannot  fix  their  prices,  but  must  take  what  they  can 
get.  The  wisest  tax,  then,  w'ould  be  one  which  cannot  be  shift¬ 
ed.  By  levying  a  tax  which  is  sure  to  be  shifted  we  do  not  really 
tax  the  one  we  seem  to  tax. 

Inheritance  Tax.  The  citizenNhas  enjoyed  his  property  dur¬ 
ing  his  life  time;  the  state  helped  him  to  accumulate  it,  collect¬ 
ing  his  debts,  enforcing  his  contracts,  standing  guard  over  his 
life  and  property.  When  he  is  thru  with  it  the  state  should  be 
fully  reimbursed.  A  direct  inheritance  to  near  relatives  should 
not  be  taxt  as  heavily  as  collateral  inheritance' to  more  distant 
relatives.  An  inheritance  tax  cannot  be  shifted,  the  receiver 

\ 

is  ‘able  to  pay”  it;  it  is  proportioned  to  benefits  received,  etc. 
This  is  the  fairest  and  most  expedient  of  all  taxes.  A  small  in¬ 
heritance  should  of  course  be  exempted. 

Income  Tax.  The  next  fairest  tax  is  the  income  tax.  The 

% 

chief  objection  is  the  difficulty  of  finding  out  what  it  is;  this 
affects  the  expediency  of  the  tax,  not  its  justice.  The  income 
tax  amendment  to  the  constitution  establishes  this  method  of 
taxation,  but  as  yet  it  is  not  largely  used.  England  raises  nearly 
fourteen  times  as  much  in  proportion  from  this  source  as  Vfe 
do,  and  it  seems  to  be  generally  considered  there  as  the  most 
popular  form  of  taxation.  Income  tax  cannot  be  shifted. 

Corporation  Tax.  The  state  creates  a  corporation  at  the 
request  of  its  members  and  for  their  benefit.  It  is  but  fair  and 
just,  then,  that  they  should  pay  in  taxes  a  large  part  at  least  of 
that  benefit.  Since  it  is  very  difficult  for  the  individual  business 
man  to  compete  with  a  corporation,  the  corporation  can  afford 
to  pay  for  that  advantage.  While  part  of  a  corporation  tax  can 
be  shifted  much  of  it  cannot.  Business  of  great  magnitude  can 
only  be  undertaken  by  corporations  so  we  cannot  afford  to  dis¬ 
courage  them  too  much  by  taxing  them  too  heavily. 

Unearned  Increment  Tax:__This  is  coming  into  general  use 
in  Germany,  England,  Australia,  New  Zealand  and  Canada.  It 
is  one  of  the  least  burdensome  of  taxes.  A  tax  on  speculation  is 
more  expedient  than  a  tax  on  labor,  and  especially  since  labor 
bears  the  chief  burden  of  shifted  taxes. 

Unwise  Taxes.  The  above  are  among  the  most  expedient 
and  just  taxes.  Perhaps  the  most  unwise  tax  is  a  tax  on  enter¬ 
prise,  which  is  so  important  in  every  department  of  the  life  of 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


105 


the  people  that  to  discourage  it  is  almost  suicidal.  We  need 
more  of  it;  we  cannot  get  too  much.  A  very  little  tax  on  enter- 
prize  may  be  fatal  unless  it  can  be  shifted,  and  in  that  case  it 
had  just  as  well  not  be  levied  because  some  else  would  really 

pay  it. 

Tax  Philosophy.  The  question  cannot  be  fully  discust  here; 
these  facts  are  mentioned  only  to  show  the  need  of  studying 
taxation.  Our  comparative  failure  in  taxation  is  due  chiefly 
to  our  assumption  that  it  is  a  simple  matter.  All  that  is  at¬ 
tempted  here  is  merely  to  show  that  it  is  an  immensely  intricate 
and  complicated  matter.  The  best  remedy  within  easy  reach  is  a 
State  Tax  Commission  composed  of  men  of  successful  business 
experience  and  who  are  profound  students  of  tax  problems. 

The  National  Purse.  This  is  filled  chiefly  by  indirect  taxes 
such  as  tariffs,  revenues,  excises,  and  by  fines,  fees,  taxes  on  in¬ 
comes,  corporations  etc.  Congress  only  levies  direct  taxes  in 
time  of  war  and  those  levied  during  the  civil  war  were  after 
wards  refunded. 

Expenditure.  Emptying  the  national  purse  is  entirely  in  the 
hands  of  Congress.  Its  expenditure  is  the  most  inefficient  and 
extravagant  in  the  world.  In  no  other  nation  are  “Pork  Barrel” 
methods  so  tolerated,  or  “log-rolling”  so  common.  We  tolerate 
the  theory  that  congressmen  are  expected  to  “get  something”  for 
their  districts  as  an  aid  to  their  re-election.  A  large  proportion 
of  the  bills  past  by  each  congress  are  “private  bills”  which  are 
of  little  or  no  importance  to  the  nation  but  are  often  little  less 
than  legalized  robbery  of  the  public.  Out  of  over  2500  bills  past 
by  the  senate  in  the  last  session,  all  but  less  than  200  were 
private  bills,  most  of  them  appropriating  money. 

A  Budget  System.  The  only  way  to  stop  this  is  by  some 
kind  of  Budget  System,  but  it  seems  very  unlikely  that  such  a 
change  will  ever  be  made  unless  public  opinion  compels  it.  In 
placing  adequate  checks  upon  each  department  of  government 
the  constitution  has  made  it  impossible  to  locate  responsibility. 
Only  a  modified  budget  system  could  of  course  be  possible 
where  the  president  and  congress  might  be  of  different  political 
parties.  The  statesmanship  of  a  representative  may  be  gauged 
by  his  attitude  towards  a  budget  system.  In  this  respect  we  are 
far  behind  every  other  enlightened  nation. 

Local  Finances.  Local  taxation  is  based  chiefly  on  real  and 
personal  prop'erty.  This  is  augumented  by  fluctuating  amounts 
from  the  state.  The  theory  of  the  real  property  tax  is  sound 
if  carried  out.  It  is  easily  assest  and  hard  to  shift.  As  a  rule 


10 6  UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 

speculators  demand  a  lower  tax  rate  on  their  land  on  the  ground 
that  they  are  not  deriving  an  annual  income  from  it.  But  their 
only  object  in  holding  the  land  is  to  get  a  larger  price  than  they 
paid  for  it,  so  their  profit  is  a  deferred  income.  By  holding 
land  for  higher  prices  they  are  rendering  no  public  service  and 
are  making  it  harder  for  poor  people  to  get  homes. 

General  Property  Tax.  Concerning  nothing  are  economists 
more  unanimous  than  that  a  general  property  tax  is  not  expedi¬ 
ent.  Much  personal  property  is  hidden  and  the  assessor  has  no 
way  to  find  it  but  by  inquisitorial  methods  which  are  intolerable 
in  a  free  country,  and  often  unlawful.  In  Massachusetts  assess¬ 
ments  on  personalty  increast  about  three  fold  in  forty  years, 
while  assessments'  of  realty  increast  nearly  five  fold.  That 
means  that  personalty  is  paying  less  in  proportion  than  forty 
years  ago,  and  yet  it  has  doubtless  increast  far  more  than  realty. 
There  are  more  stocks,  bonds,  money,  and  credits  in  New  York 
City  than  any  where  else  in  the  country,  but  the  taxes  from 
those  sources  are  only  about  one-eighth  of  those  on  real  estate. 
In  Chicago  a  few  years  ago  the  richest  man  in  the  city  paid 
taxes  on  only  $20,000  of  personality,  tho  he  was  worth  millions. 
Assessors  have  to  be  elected  by  the  votes  of  those  whose  prop¬ 
erty  they  assess  and  cannot  afford  to  make  enemies,  and  if  they 
should  sacrifice  themselves  it  would  never  be  appreciated. 

Assessments.  Nothing  that  we  do  is  more  inefficient  and 
unscientific  than  our  assessment  for  taxation.  The  same  articles 
such  as  horses,  wagons,  etc.,  are  sometimes  assest  nearly  twice 
as  high  as  some  parts  of  the  state  as  in  others.  The  law  re¬ 
quires  property  to  be  assest  at  its  market  value  but  it  seldom 
is.  Every  property  owner  must  swear  that  the  valuation  is 
correct.  The  present  system  often  compels  an  honest  man  to 
commit  perjury  but  who  deems  it  a  lesser  evil  than  valuing 
his  property  higher  than  his  neighbors.  The  blame  is,  chiefly  at 
least,  on  the  system.  In  some  states  the  assessments  are  pub- 
lisht.  This  is  vehemently  opposed  by  those  who  are  shirking, 
which  goes  to  show  that  the  publicity  is  desirable. 

Permanency.  The  expenditure  of  local  funds  in  small  com¬ 
munities  is  usually  more  honest  and  efficient  than  in  cities.  The* 
chief  fault  is  trying  to  get  along  too  cheaply.  An  aggregate  of 
millions  is  squandered  in  merely  temporary  improvements  that 
should  have  been  made  permanent  at  the  beginning.  This  is 
notably  true  in  roads,  bridges,  etc.  The  ultimate  cost  is  far 
greater  than  making  such  improvements  permanent  to  begin 
with;  and  besides  they  never  render  the  public  the  service  need- 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


107 


ed.  Most  of  such  improvements  should  be  built  by  bonds  so  that 
those  who  use  them  hereafter  could  help  pay  for  them.  Tho 
prejudice  against  bonds  is  very  expensive  to  those  who  hold  it 

Home  Rule  in  Taxation.  Many  advocate  home  rule  in  taxa¬ 
tion  so  that  its  problems  could  be  brought  more  clearly  before 
the  individual  citizen,  which  would  cause  more  study  and  give 
better  opportunities  for  it.  Many  complain  more  of  taxes  than 
of  any  other  burden.  But  ifis  by  far  the  cheapest  investment 
we  make.  In  nothing  else  does  an  equal  amount  of  money  give 
anything  like  such  returns.  For  the  taxes  we  pay  we  may 
live  in  a  civilized  community,  have  life  and  property  protected, 
have  the  children  educated,  with  roads,  bridges,  courts,  records, 
things  which  no  money  could  buy  in  any  other  way. 

The  State  Purse.  State  finances  overlap  both  local  and  na¬ 
tional  The  state  revenues  come  chiefly  from  specific  taxes  on 
corporations,  oil,  etc.  Many  think  that  the  income  tax  should  be 
levied  only  by  the  state  except  in  time  of  war.  This  would  be 
greatly  to  the  advantage  of  the  richer  states.  The  state  levy 
on  general  property  is  usually  very  small.  Last  year  it  was  2*4 
mills  in  Oklahoma.  Abolishing  state  taxes  would  make  but  little 
difference  with  tax  bills. 

Emptying  The  State  Purse.  State  funds  can  be  expended 
only  by  the  legislature;  it  is  one  of  its  most  important  functions. 
Much  complaint  is  made  of  every  legislature,  but  the  fault  is  far 
more  with  the  system.  The  opportunity  of  the  legislature  to  at¬ 
tend  to  the  expenditure  of  so  much  money  involving  so  many 
interests  is  entirely  and  even  absurdly  inadequate.  It  meets  but 
once  in  two  years  and  then  only  for  sixty  days,  and  half  of  that 
or  more  is  required  to  get  organized  and  in  running  order.  The 
state  does  not  furnish  adequate  information,  either  of  the  needs 
at  home  or  of  what  is  done  in  other  states. 

The  honest  and  capable  efforts  of  the  legislators  are  seldom 
appreciated.  The  selfish  legislator  who  gets  the  most  swag  for 
his  constituency  is  likely  to  be  better  rewarded  than  the  faithful 
and  patriotic  public  servant.  The  greatest  bane  of  legislative 
procedure  is  legislative  bargaining.  Legislators  must  support 
each  other’s  bills  in  order  to  get  anything  at  all.  The  trouble  is 
not  with  the  legislators  but  vf.ith  the  system.  If  we  demand  ef¬ 
ficient  expenditure  of  public  funds  from  the  legislature  it  would 
seem  that  the  first  essential  would  be  to  give  it  a  fair  chance 
to  do  it. 

Importance  of  Expenditure.  Not  only  is  the  legislative  func¬ 
tion  of  spending  the  state’s  money  important  because  of  the  im- 


io8 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


mense  sums  of  money  expended;  but  the  legislature  must  choose 
the  objects  for  which  it  will  be  expended.  So  the  rate  of  pro¬ 
gress  the  state  makes  depends  on  legislative  support  of  new 
movements.  Oklahoma  does  not  yet  have  a  Library  Commission, 
nor  a  Tax  Commission,  nor  a  Legislative  Reference  Bureau 
There  is  but  little  time  to  consider  such  things  in  a  legislative 
session.  Nothing  can  be  done  successfully  or  satisfactorily  with¬ 
out  adequate  financial  support. 

«* 

But  these  themes  are  far  too  great  to  be  discust  in  this  brief 
introduction.  The  only  object  is  to  show  the  necessity  of  study¬ 
ing  them. 

STUDY  ON  IV. 

Suggested  Questions  To  Aid  Discussion. 

1.  Why  should  business  methods  be  more  ineffective  in  de¬ 
mocracies?  2.  Ar'e  there  advantages  which  compensate?  3. 
Discuss  each  of  the  Tax  Maxims  named.  4.  Why  should  lux¬ 
uries  be  taxt  most?  5.  Is  it  wrong  to  shift  taxes?  6.  Upon 
what  classes  do  you  think  taxes  are  finally  shifted?  7.  Discuss 
the  justice,  expediency,  etc.,  of  Inheritance  Tax.  8.  Ditto  the 
Income  Tax.  9.  Ditto  the  Corporation  Tax.  10.  Ditto  the 
Unearned  Increment  Tax.  11.  Ditto  taxes  on  Enterprize  and 
Labor.  12.  Discuss  the  advantages  of  a  Tax  Commission.  13. 
What  is  “log  rolling?”  14.  What  is  meant  by  "pork  barrel” 
legislation?  15.  How  would  a  Budget  System  work  when  the 
executive  was  of  one  political  party  and  the  majority  of  the 
legislative  body  another?  16.  What  would  be  some  of  the  ef¬ 
fects  of  taxing  unused  land  the  same  as  improved  land?  17. 
Would  cement  roads  be  economy  in  the  long  run  where  they 
are  used  very  much?  18.  Are  wooden  bridges  cheaper  than 
iron?  19.  What  advantage  would  there  be  in  publishing  as¬ 
sessments?  20.  Show  that  a  General  Property  Tax  is  a  tax 
on  honesty.  21.  Discuss  Home  Rule  in  Taxation.  22.  Show 
how  state  taxes  overlap  national  and  local  taxes.  23.  How 
could  the  legislature  be  given  a  better  chance  to  do  its  work? 
24.  Show  how  education  is  dependent  on  the  wisdom  of  legis¬ 
lative  appropriations.  25.  Why  are  legislative  sessions  lim¬ 
ited  to  60  days? 

REFERENCES 
Plehn:  Government  Finance. 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


109 


V.  THE  STATE  AND  THE  INDIVIDUAL. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Relations.  The  proper  relations  of  the  state  to  the  indi¬ 
vidual  is  one  of  the  unsolved  problems.  Excessive  predomin¬ 
ance  of  the  state  leads  to  tyranny;  of  the  individual,  to  anarchy. 
According  to  the  German  view  the  state  is  everything;  the  in¬ 
dividual  nothing.  The  state  is  above  all  else.  They  practically 
make  it  superior  to  God  and  to  morality.  Whatever  is  neces¬ 
sary  to  the  state  is  moral,  is  their  teaching.  Much  of  that 
kind  of  teaching  is  in  reality  toadying  to  the  ruling  class  which 
is  practically  the  state.  In  the  American  view  the  state  exists 
to  serve  the  individual,  just  the  opposite  of  the  German  theory 
of  the  state.  With  us  all  authority  to  the  state  is  grudgingly 
yielded.  Wherever  the  constitution  grants  authority  it  provides 
abundant  checks  upon  it. 

Lloth  indispensable.  Altho  somewhat  antagonistic  the  in¬ 
tegrity  of  both  must  be  carefully  sustained.  Too  great  subordin¬ 
ation  of  the  individual  leads  to  moral  degeneration  as  illustrated 
by  the  frightful  barbarities  perpetrated  by  the  Germans  in  this 
war  and  the  moral  bankruptcy  of  the  German  nation.  Too  great 
subordination  of  the  state  leads  to  such  weakness  and  corrup¬ 
tion  that  the  state  cannot  perform  its  necessary  functions.  Weak¬ 
ening  the  state  too  much  enables  strong  individuals  to  use  if 
for  personal  ends.  The  state  must  be  composed  of  individuals; 
any  deterioration  of  the  individuals  must  weaken  the  state.  The 
relations  of  the  state  and  individual  is  a  problematic  one  which 
requires  constant  adjustment. 

The  State  Must  Control  the  Individual.  Even  if  the  state 
exist  only  to  serve  the  individuals  composing  it,  still  within  cer¬ 
tain  limits  it  must  control  them.  Its  ability  to  serve  often  de¬ 
pends  upon  its  abiljty  to  command.  The  necessity  for  state  con¬ 
trol  of  crime  is  evident.  Where  the  state  cannot  do  this  each  in¬ 
dividual  must  go  armed  and  prepared  to  defend  himself;  this  is 
the  savage  state  of  society  where  there  is  practically  no  govern¬ 
ment.  Where  interests  conflict  the  state  must  control  or  there 
would  be  continual-  strife.  Without  state  control  there  would 
be  practical  anarchy.  So  even  if  we  hold  that  the  state  should 
serve  the  individual  we  must  willingly  consent  to  allow  it  to 
control  us  in  all  necessary  ways. 

Limitations  of  State  Control.  Jefferson  thought  the  nation 
was  governed  best  that  was  governed  least.  That  depends.  The 
state  must  govern  enuf;  how  much  depends  on  varying  condi¬ 
tions  and  circumstances.  The  poor  especially  suffer  from  a 


no 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


weak  government;  for  it  is  not  able  either  to  protect  them  or 
serve  them.  In  our  American  theory  we  do  not  permit  state 
control  for  the  sake  of  the  state,  but  only  where  it  is  to  the 
interest  of  the  individual.  There  is  danger  of  course  that  the 
individual  interest  may  be  selfish;  that  powerful  or  corrupt 
combinations  may  control  the  state  in  their  own  interest;  the 
sole  dependence  then  is  upon  the  incorruptibility  and  intelli¬ 
gence  of  the  electorate.  The  final  limitation  of  the  state’s 
power  is  the  rights  and  interests  of  good  citizens. 

The  State  Must  Protect  the  Individual.  No  individual  can 
protect  himself  economically,  and  very  many  cannot  protect 
themselves  in  any  way.  For  those  able  to  protect  themselves,  to 
do  so  is  likely  to  be  against  public  policy,  for  power  to  protect 
may  be  used  to  oppress.  There  are  always  the  helpless  which 
the  state  must  jealously  guard;  there  are  the  physically  or  men¬ 
tally  defective  who  are  the  special  wards  of  the  nation,  and  one 
measure  of  a  nation’s  civilization  is  the  care  it  takes  of  those 
unable  to  take  care  of  themselves.  In  extreme  cases  the  state 
provides  homes  or  asylums.  Our  failure  to  make  any  provision 
in  most  states  for  mothers  left  widows  with  children  to  rear  is 
far  from  creditable  to  our  civilization. 

Self-Protection.  Too  much  protection  would  evidently 
weaken  or  destroy  individuality,  self  assertion,  and  independ¬ 
ence.  It  is  better  to  permit  some  suffering,  even,  than  sacrifice 
such  qualities  as  these.  Here,  as  before,  no  hard  and  fast  rules 
can  be  laid  down,  A  too  paternal  government  may  in  the  long 
run  be  more  injurious  than  a  negligent  one.  The  ultimate  test 
of  a  government  is  the  individuals  it  produces.  They  must  have 
all  possible  initiative  and  freedom  of  action  and  deve1opment: 
protection  should  be  afforded  only  where  it  is  clearly  needed. 

The  State  Must  Assist  Individuals.  A  common  way  of  doing 
this  is  in  the  enforcement  of  contracts,  regulation  of  trade,  pre¬ 
vention  of  unfairness,  dishonesty,  and  crime.  Most  of  our  laws 
are  for  the  purpose  of  regulating  the  relations  of  individuals.  No 
man  can  do  just  as  he  pleases  either  to  a  neighbor  or  to  a 
stranger.  Public  employment  bureaus  are  establisht  to  aid  the 
unemployed  to  find  employment;  both  state  and  nation  have 
Departments  of  Labor  to  look  after  the  interests  of  all  kinds  of 
labor;  consuls  find  time  from  their  other  duties  to  hunt  up  trade 
opnortunities  in  other  lands  and  get  information  needful  to 
American  business.  .The  state  maintains  or  supervises  various 
public  utilities  which  serve  the  public  more  efficiently  and 
cheaply  than  private  enterprize  could. 


t 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS  in 

Helping  Without  Pauperizing.  It  is  clear  that  too  much 
help  paralyzes  individual  effort  and  enterprise.  To  help  just 
enuf  without  helping  too  much  is  a  never-io-be-solved  problem, 
for  conditions  constantly  change.  The  teacher  who  helps  the 
pupil  too  much  is  merely  eating  his  dinner  for  him, — depriving 
him  of  opportunity  of  growth.  The  incapable  usually  clamor 
for  government  aid;  they  want  the  government  not  only  to 
protect  and  assist  them  in  an  elementary  way  but  to  do  every 
thing  for  them.  Since  they  are  unable  to  use  liberty  effectively 
they  are  willing  to  surrender  it  entirely  and  compel  every  one 
else  to.  One  of  the  most  difficult  things  in  the  world  is  to  help 
the  poor  without  pauperizing  them.  Those  who  administer 
charities  find  great  numbers  who  soon  become  dependent  on 
charity  and  make  no  further  efforts  to  better  their  condition. 
Many  will  not  work  while  others  will  furnish  them  with  food, 
clothing,  and  shelter. 

Subserviency.  Germany  is  an  example  of  a  people  where 
the  mass'es  have  lost  their  initiative.  The  promise  of  a  little 
pension  when  they  are  old  holds  the  underpaid  laborers  to 
their  poverty.  They  invent  nothing.  Politically  they  are  the 
most  incompetent  people  in  Europe,  and  submit  with  scarcely  a 
protest  to  the  greatest  political  injustice  and  fraud  in  the 
world.  A  paternalistic  government  does  so  much  for  them  that 
they  are  abjectly  dependent  on  it  for  everything,  and  even  be¬ 
lieve  everything  it  tells  them.  The  masses  of  Germany  are  said 
to  still  believe  that  she  was  attackt  first  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war.  At  their  government’s  command  they  have  committed  the 
most  unspeakable  barbarisms  in  the  world’s  history  with  ap¬ 
parently  but  little  protest.  Fifty  massmeetings  to  protest  against 
war  are  said  to  have  been  held  in  Berlin  the  night  before  war 
was  declared,  but  the  protesters  all  lined  up  when  they  were 
told,  and  fought  their  best.  And  they  fought  to  rivet  the  bands 
of  their  slavery  both  upon  themselves  and  upon  other  nations. 

The  State  Must  Develop  the  Individual.  The  state  must  not 
only  not  repress  individuals  as  in  Germany,  but  should  develop 
them,  both  for  th'eir  sake  and  for  its  own.  This  is  its  noblest 
duty  and  highest  function;  it  is  the  supreme  test  of  a  form  of 
government.  We  recognize  this  in  our  public  school  system. 
The  fathers  of  our  republic  taught  that  education  is  the  corner 
stone  of  democracy.  It  is  the  chief  glory  of  America  that  a 
Lincoln  may  come  from  a  log  cabin  and  a  Garfield  from  the 
tow-path;  that  her  boys  and  girls  have  a  better  chance  to  rise 
than  anywhere  else  in  the  world.  Emerson  said,  “America 


i 


1 12 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


means  opportunity.”  A  German-American  in  Iowa,  who  cam© 
here  ten  years  ago  with  nothing,  recently  bought  a  $500  Liberty 
bond  for  each  of  his  eight  children  as  a  recognition  of  his  obli¬ 
gation  to  America  which  had  given  him  opportunity  to  rise.  To 
him  America  meant  more  than  to  most  of  us  who  are  born  here. 
Not  only  do  we  offer  education  to  every  child  but  parents  are 
forbidden  to  rob  their  children  of  its  advantages.  We  recog¬ 
nize  no  greater  obligation  than  the  education  or  development  of 
the  children. 

German  Education.  This  is  a  stupendous  perversion.  The 
children  of  the  working  classes  are  not  taught  to  reason  but  to 
absorb  and  obey;  or  in  other  words,  to  serve  the  aristocracy. 
While  this  system  has  developt  an  unprecedented  capacity  for 
absorbing  knowledge,  with  it  has  been  developt  an  unparalleled 
political  incompetence  and  the  lowest  inventive  skill  in  the 
civilized  nations.  For  American  labor  to  support  the  German 
system  is  unspeakable  ignorance  or  worse.  Any  admirer  of  that 
system  should  go  there  to  live;  he  has  no  right  to  live  under  our 
free  institutions  and  be  a  traitor  to  them. 

The  State  and  the  Criminal.  This  helpful  attitude  of  the 
state  applies  even  to  criminals.  Formerly  prison  and  punish¬ 
ment  expressed  the  wrath  of  society  towards  crime.  It  was  sup¬ 
posed  that  the  more  severe  the  punishment  the  greater  the  de¬ 
terring  influence.  Punishment  is  now  thought  of  as  remedial 
rather  than  punitive;  the  duty  of  the  state  is  not  to  punish  but 
to  reform  the  criminal;  the  punishment  is  incidental  to  the 
greater  purpose.  So  in  prisons  we  are  trying  to  develop  crimi¬ 
nals,  to  teach  them  trades,  to  advance  their  education.  Since 
few  have  known  the  effects  of  higher  education  we  are  trying 
to  give  each  convict  the  kind  of  education  he  needs,  whether 
technical,  cultural,  or  vocational.  In  the  California  penitentiary, 
more  than  1,000  convicts  have  taken  correspondence  study  from 
the  University  and  the  results  are  found  to  be  remarkable.  We 
must  endeavor  to  return  the  criminal  to  society  not  more  hard¬ 
ened  and  embittered  but  equipt  better  than  ever  to  make  a  living 
and  a  place  among  men. 

The  State  and  the  Poor.  Dissatisfaction  with  poverty  grows 
mo'^e  acute.  Can  the  state  prevent  it?  Many  are  the  panaceas 
recommended.  Ancient  Rome  furnisht  her  poor  with /free  graiu, 
and  the  poor  crowded  to  her.  A  kind  hearted  woman  in 
Connecticut  left  a  sum  of  money  to  help  the  poor  of  her  town. 
A  few  years  later  the  town  petitioned  the  legislature  to  annul 
the  will  to  keep  the  town  from  filling  with  paupers.  The  state 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


113 

does  not  owe  the  individual  a  living,  but  as  far  as  possible  a 
chance  to  make  a  living.  Pauperizing  is  akin  to  murdering.  To 
take  away  from  a  man  that  which  makes  him  a  man  is  little  less 
than  taking  his  life;  for  without  that  which  gives  it  sig¬ 
nificance  and  value  it  is  a  cumbrous  gift.  Socialism  has  been 
called  a  paradise  for  the  incompetent;  would  not  a  paradise  for 
the  comp'etent  be  a  better  world?  And  a  still  better  one  would 
be  where  the  competent  had  opportunity  to  make  their  own 
paradise.  But  even  here  the  state  might  furnish  opportunities 
till  the  job  seeker  lost  all  power  to  find  one  himself.  The 
mother  eagle  carries  her  eaglet  to  a  great  height  and  drops  it. 
As  it  falls  flapping  and  shrieking  towards  the  abyss  beneath 
the  mother  dives  below  and  catches  it  on  her  back,  carries  it 
on  high  and  drops  it  again.  It  is  severe  discipline,  but  some  day 
that  eaglet  soars  to  meet  the  sun. 

Patriotism.  We  say  much  of  the  duty  of  the  state  to  the 
individual;  what  of  the  duty  of  the  individual  to  the  state?  Those 
who  demand  most  from  the  state  are  not  always  the  most  pat¬ 
riotic.  It  is  true  that  the  state  should  exist  for  the  individual;  it 
is  equally  true  that  the  individual  exists  for  the  state.  When  the 
state  is  in  danger  the  individual  forgets  self.  The  people  must 
protect  the  nation  for  their  own  sake,  not  the  nation’s.  Ger¬ 
many  cannot  understand  Belgium  and  England  and  America: 
she  cannot  see  why  they  should  fight.  The  love  of  country,  of 
its  honor,  of  its  liberty,  has  always  been  the  greatest  obstacle  to 
tyranny.  And  patriotism  not  only  calls  for  sacrifices  in  war, 
but  for  honest  voting  and  intelligent  citizenship  in  time  of  peace. 
Neither  can  avail  without  the  other.  Men  will  not  die  to  save 
a  nation  not  worth  saving. 

War  Time  Relations.  In  war  time  the  normal  relations  be¬ 
tween  the  state  and  the  individual  are  disturbd;  for  men  to  talk 
of  free  speech  and  other  rights  when  the  nation  is  in  danger  is 
irrational  and  contemptible.  A  committee  of  five  men  control 
all  the  railroads  in  the  United  States  but  there  has  not  been  a 
protest  or  a  suit  to  prevent  such  control.  The  government  must 
fix  the  prices  of  coal,  wheat,  iron,  copper,  shoes,  and  will  doubt¬ 
less  fix  many  other  prices.  Supply  and  demand  cannot  be  de¬ 
pended  upon  now;  high  prices  might  defeat  us  in  the  war  by 
making  it  impossible  for  the  poor  to  live  or  the  government  to 
secure  supplies.  Whatever  theories  we  may  hold  in  time  of 
peace  there  is  but  one  opinion  now.  The  state  must  have  all; 
our  interests,  our  loyalty,  our  treasure,  our  sons. 

Individualism  and  Socialism.  The  social  type  which  lays 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


1 14 

too  much  stress  on  the  individual  is  calld  “Individualism;”  that 
which  overemphasizes  the  state  is  called  “Socialism.”  There 
are  many  types  of  both;  they  are  tendencies  rather  than  defi¬ 
nite  types.  The  socialistic  type,  represented  by  ancient  Sparta 
and  modern  Germany,  is  designated  “State  Socialism;”  this  is 
the  only  type  that  has  ever  succeeded  in  establishing  anything 
jike  a  permanent  state.  Many  socialists  are  as  antagonistic 
as  individualists  to  the  state  socialism  of  Germany,  and  especial¬ 
ly  to  its  results.  Individualism  is  beset  on  one  hand  by  anarchy 
and  on  the  other  by  the  rise  of  powerful  individuals  who  cannot 
be  restrained  by  single  individuals  but  only  by  the  state  which 
individualism  weakens.  Both  are  types  of  brigandage,  for  scien¬ 
tifically  and  morally  the  financial  exploiter  is  as  much  a  brig¬ 
and  as  Robin  Hood  and  sometimes  less  chivalrous.  Socialism 
is  beset  on  the  one  hand  by  communism  denying  the  right  to 
property,  as  twice  illustrated  in  French  history  and  also  in  the 
recent  Russian  revolution;  and  on  the  other  by  autocracy  which 
naturally  results  from  the  relativ  weakening  of  the  individual, 
as  illustrated  in  Sparta  and  Germany.  This  great  war  is  a 
struggle  between  liberty  for  the  individual  and  the  dominance 
of  the  state,  or  democracy  and  autocracy. 

Character  and  Citizenship.  These  are  correlated  and  must 
be  developt  together, — character  for  the  individual,  citizenship 
for  che  state.  Character  is  the  more  fundamental  because  an 
unworthy  character  cannot  be  a  worthy  citizen;  and  on  the 
other  hand,  so-calld  good  people  sometimes  neglect  the  duties  of 
citizenship,  or  their  duties  to  others.  But  such  men  are  not 
really  good;  they  lack  the  highest  and  culminating  quality  of 
goodness.  A  goodness  which  neglects  or  denies  public  or  social 
duties  is  futil  and  abortiv,  salt  which  has  lost  its  savor.  No 
one  can  be  a  good  man  or  a  good  Christian  unless  he  is  also  a 
goo  I  citizen.  Religion  must  make  citizenship.  We  cannot  love 
God  unless  we  love  our  neighbor.  We  cannot  have  good  citizen¬ 
ship  without  good  character,  or  good  character  without  good 
citizenship;  they  are  inseparable,  and  it  takes  both  to  solve  the 
problems  arising  from  the  relations  of  the  State  and  the  Indi¬ 
vidual.  Character  takes  care  of  the  individual;  citizenship  of 
the  state. 

STUDY  ON  V. 

Suggested  Questions  To  Aid  Discussion. 

1.  Which  would  be  better  for  the  state;  to  have  its  rela¬ 
tions  to  the  individuals  composing  it  settled  permanently,  or  to 
have  them  constantly  needing  adjustment?  2.  Which  would  he 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


US 

better  for  the  individuals?  3.  In  what  respects  are  the  German 
and  the  American  ideals  of  the  state  opposite?  4.  In  a  normal 
world  which  should  be  favored  more,  the  state  or  the  individual? 
5.  Discuss  the  reasons  why  the  state  should  control  the  indi¬ 
vidual.  6.  How  may  democracy  tend  to  anarchy?  7.  Discuss 
Jefferson’s  maxim.  8.  Which  would  great  wealth  be  likely  to 
favor;  state  or  individual  control?  Why?  9  .Under  which  would 
the  poor  fare  better?  Why?  10.  Should  America  protect  its 
citizens  on  the  Lusitania?  Why?  11.  Make  a  list  of  the  ways 
the  state  may  assist  its  citizens.  12.  Why  is  it  hard  to  help 
the  poor  without  pauperizing  them?  13.  Which  would  you  pre¬ 
fer;  a  poor  government  with  line  citizenship,  or  good  govern¬ 
ment  with  inferior  citizens?  Why?  14.  Why  is  there  little  hope 
of  a  revolution  in  Germany?  15.  Why  should  it  be  the  state’s 
duty  to  develop  its  citizens?  Why  not  the  citizens  develop 
themselves?  16.  Why  should  those  who  admire  Germany  be 
required  to  go  back  there  to  live?  17.  Can  other  nations  trust 
them?  Why?  18.  Why  should  punishment  be  remedial  instead 
of  punitive?  19.  Is  the  state  ever  partly  to  blame  for  crime? 
20.  Will  a  merciful  attitude  towards  crime  increase  it?  21. 
Should  a  criminal  after  his  punishment  be  restored  to  his  former 
place  in  society?  Give  reasons  both  for  and  against.  22.  Was 
ine  Connecticut  woman  really  kind  to  the  poor?  23.  Can  you 
suggest  a  better  plan  than  the  one  she  used?  24.  Where  would 
you  rather  live;  where  the  government  made  the  best  pro¬ 
visions  for  the  competent  or  for  the  incompetent?  Why?  25. 
fs  the  mother  eagle  cruel  to  her  young?  26.  What  if  she  failed 
to  catch  it  sometime,  should  she  change  her  method?  27.  Why 
should  the  individual  be  entirely  subordinated  to  the  state  in 
time  of  war  or  great  peril?  28.  Are  laws  made  for  peaceful 
times  sufficient  for  war  times?  29.  Are  there  any  heroes  in 
times  of  peace?  Who?  30.  Should  all  individual  rights  be  ig¬ 
nored  in  war  time?  What  should  be  retained?  31.  If  the  nation 
is  lost  what  becomes  of  the  individual  citizen  and  his  rights? 
32.  Define  Individualism.  33.  Does  the  subordination  of  the  in¬ 
dividual  weaken  his  mental  and  moral  powers?  34.  How  does 
Germany  illustrate  this?  35.  Define  Socialism.  36.  Does 
individualism  or  socialism  give  greater  opportunities  to  power¬ 
ful  and  unscrupulous  individuals?  37.  Can  anything  restrain 
such  individuals?  38.  Should  religion  restrain  them?  Can  it? 

39.  Which  type  is  more  congenial  to  the  weak  and  incompetent? 

40.  Which  to  the  strong  and  capable?  Why?  41.  Does  the 
highest  character  serve  itself  or  others?  42.  Can  a  man  be  good 


ii6 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


in  himself,  regardless  of  others?  43.  Why  is  good  character 
futil  without  good  citizenship?  44.  Is  this  war  a  struggle  be¬ 
tween  liberty  and  autocracy?  45.  How  is  this  war  a  struggle 
between  theories  of  the  relations  of  the  state  to  the  individual? 


REFERENCES 

Cunningham:  Christianity  and  Social  Problems,  Part  I,  Chap.  III. 
Elwood:  Sociology  and  Social  Problems,  Chapters'  XIII,  XIV. 
Towne:  Social  Problems,  Chapters  IX,  X,  XI. 

Hart:  Educational  Resources,  Chapter  VII. 


VI.  THE  WORLD  TREND  TO  DEMOCRACY. 

INTRODUCTION 

Aristotle’s  Cycle.  Aristotle  observed  that  the  governments 
of  the  cities  of  ancient  Greece  showed  a  tendency  to  change  in 
regular  cycles.  First,  preceded  by  chaos  without  history, 
there  would  be  a  monarchy  under  a  single  masterful  man.  Mon¬ 
archies  tend  to  become  tyrannical  and  are  overthrown  by  a  com¬ 
bination  of  leaders  and  there  is  an  aristrocracy.  This  tends  to 
become  a  selfish  oligarchy,  the  worst  of  all  governments,  and 
finally  the  people  rebel  and  establish  a  democracy.  But  in  t  ime 
democracy  tends  to  become  corrupt  and  inefficient  and  there 
is  anarchy.  Then  a  strong  leader  arises  who  brings  order  out 
of  confusion  and  there  is  a  monarchy  again.  While  this  tendency 
is  much  less  markt  in  modern  history  it  is  still  to  be  reckoned 
with. 

The  Present  Trend.  For  more  than  a  century  the  world 
wide  trend  to  democracy  has  been  rapidly  increasing.  That. 
China  and  Russia  could  become  democracies  seemed  a  few  years 
ago  as  improbable  as  anything  in  human  affairs  could  be;  but 
the  revolutions  in  both  countries  show  great  strength  and  are 
probably  permanent.  Both  have  had  absolutism  and  oligarchy; 
the  cycle  naturally  brings  democracy.  If  this  degenerates  into 
anarchy  or  becomes  corrupt,  monarchy,  in  some  form,  will 
come  back  again.  While  the  trend  to  democracy  is  universal 
we  cannot  assume  its  permanence.  In  countries  which  still 
retain  the  monarchal  form  of  government  the  monarch  is  being 
more  and  more  limited  by  legislative  bodies.  In  England,  for 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


ii/ 

example,  the  king  is  hardly  more  than  a  figure  head.  Countries 
already  democratic  are  becoming  more  so.  One  indication  is 
the  growth  of  woman’s  suffrage  sentiment  especially  in  England 
and  the  United  States.*  Everywhere  there  is  a  tendency  to  dis¬ 
tribute  power  more  widely.  While  wealth  tends  to  pass  from 
many  to  the  few,  political  power  is  passing  from  the  few  to  the 
many.  Even  in  countries  with  the  most  autocratic  governments 
more  attention  is  paid  to  public  opinion  and  increasing  efforts 
are  made  to  direct  and  mold  it. 

Republic  and  Democracy.  The  distinction  between  a  repub¬ 
lic  and  a  democracy  is  less  pronounced.  The  introduction  of  the 
Initiative  and  Referendum  in  republics  makes  it  possible  for 
them  to  be  practically  democracies.  With  this  political  device 
a  republic  may  become  a  pure  democracy  whenever  there  is  need, 
thus  securing  the  advantages  of  both.  In  our  own  history  the 
two  leading  parties  at  first  were  the  Federalists  and  the  Repub¬ 
lican.  The  Federalist  became  the  Republican  party  and  the 
Republican  became  the  Democratic  party  of  today,  and  the  drift 
still  continues. 

Autocracy  Efficient.  It  must  be  admitted  that  autocracy  is 
more  efficient  than  democracy.  The  centralization  of  authority 
and  responsibility  is  an  elementary  principle  of  good  business 
management.  When  men  are  free  to  think  they  will  think  dif¬ 
ferently  and  there  will  be  divided  counsels.  Division,  paralysis 
in  the  presence  of  the  enemy,  is  not  democracy  but  suicide,  as 
Russia  is  learning.  Autocracy  has  an  infinite  advantage  in  in¬ 
ternational  trade;  the  nation  is  one  instead  of  being  divided  into 
competing  units.  All  the  power  and  purse  of  Germany  is  back 
of  every  German  exporter.  Individual  business  in  other  coun¬ 
tries  cannot  compete.  Any  price  can  be  made  regardless  of  cost 
in  order  to  kill  off  foreign  competition,  and  necessary  standards 
of  excellence  can  be  maintained  which  freer  nations  cannot  at¬ 
tain.  Autocracy  can  promise  old  age  pensions,  check  emigra- 
tion,  prevent  graft,  appoint  experts  to  administrative  positions, 
and  so  secure  unparalleled  efficiency  in  business  and  municipal 
management. 

Democracy  Growing  More  Efficient.  In  countries  with  the 
freest  political  institutions  there  are  constant  efforts  to  make 
democracy  more  efficient.  One  is  the  Preferential  Ballot  which 
will  greatly  aid  the  people  in  expressing  their  will  and  in  getting 
competent  officials,  and  will  correspondingly  weaken  the  power 
of  demagogs.  Another  is  the  Short  Ballot  in  place  of  the  pres 
ent  long  ballot  which  so  often  defeats  the  popular  will.  Legis- 


IIS 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


lative  reform  tries  to  locate  responsibility  so  the  people  may 
know  just  how  their  representatives  are  representing  them. 
Civil  Service  Reform  aids  the  public  in  getting  more  efficient 
service  and  in  getting  public  business  done  on  business  princi¬ 
ples. 

Defects  of  Democracy.  Democracy  can  seldom  elect  its  best 
men  to  office;  it  allows  itself  to  be  manacled  at  the  ballot  box 
and  the  demagog  flourishes;  it  is  difficult  to  get  sufficient  unani¬ 
mity;  men  will  play  for  selfish  advantage  when  their  country  is 
in  extremest  peril;  cities  are  governed  by  shameless  rings 
which  are  prodigies  of  greed  and  corruption;  government  is 
enormously  expensive  and  inversely  proportional  in  efficiency. 
Often  democracy  must  compromise  with  crime,  it  is  useless  to 
pass  laws  which  cannot  be  enforced;  the  worst  have  an  equal 
voice  with  the  best,  and  the  best  find  excuses  for  fraternizing 
with  the  worst.  New  York  City  has  not  reelected  a  good  admin¬ 
istration  in  50  years,  and  other  cities  have  a  similar  record. 
Such  facts  must  be  faced;  we  cannot  afford  to  disregard  them. 
It  is  no  defense  to  say  that  these  faults  need  not  be,  so  long  as 
they  are.  We  cannot  afford  to  disregard  the  tendencies  to  dis¬ 
integration  and  anarchy, — they  are  democracy’s  greatest  peril. 

Democracy  the  World’s  Hope.  And  yet  democracy  is  the 
world’s  chief  hope  It  permits  and  develops  the  individual  initia¬ 
tive  which  makes  individual  morality  possible.  Its  ultimate 
ideals  are  the  same  as  religion’s, — the  culmination  of  human 
development.  It  stimulates  the  noblest  patriotism;  it  gives 
significance  to  sacrifice  because  there  is  something  to  sacrifice. 
Only  democracy  can  make  a  great  people;  that  is  its  mission, 
that  is  its  test.  Compare  German  brutality  and  American  benevo¬ 
lence  in  Belgium;  it  is  the  natural  difference  between  the  effects 
of  autocracy  and  democracy.  Democracy  loves  brotherhood;  au¬ 
tocracy  spurns  it.  The  test  of  a  form  of  government  is  not  its 
efficiency,  but  the  great  souls  it  develops. 

Duties  of  Democracy.  Every  act  which  weakens  democracy 
helps  to  establish  autocracy.  Democracy  must  learn  self-re¬ 
straint,  efficiency,  reverence  for  law.  We  have  the  saying, 
“The  Lord  cares  for  widows,  orphans,  idiots  ana  the  United 
States.”  We  have  no  right  to  appeal  to  Providence  for  what  we 
should  do  ourselves.  We  are  free,  but  not  free  to  do  wrong,  not 
free  to  destroy  our  heritage.  One  candidate  would  rather  be 
right  than  be  president;  another  would  rather  be  president  than 
be  right;  the  people  must  discriminate,  use  more  care  in  voting. 
We  must  distinguish  between  the  statesman  and  the  demagog, 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


119 


the  patriot  and  the  time-server.  The  man  who  for  any  pretext 
whatever  votes  for  an  unworthy  man  for  office  is  a  traitor  t« 
democracy;  the  ballot  of  the  freemen  is  his  most  sacred  trust. 

Individual  Responsibility.  In  a  democracy  each  citizen  must 
feel  responsibility  for  his  country’s  acts,  must  share  responsi¬ 
bility  for  his  country’s  welfare.  It  is  common  for  office  seekers 
and  politicians  to  do  things  which,  if  enuf  of  their  fellow  citizens 
also  did  them,  would  jeopardize  their  country’s  existence.  One 
man  buys  a  vote;  suppose  everybody  did  it?  One  man  defeats 
or  evades  a  law;  suppose  everybody  did  it?  One  man  neglects 
to  vote,  cheats  in  business,  slanders  a  good  citizen,  dodges  his 
taxes;  suppose  everybody  did  the  same — and  all  have  an  equal 
right  to — what  would  become  of  us?  The  man  who  will  do 
wrong,  expecting  that  the  virtues  of  his  fellow  men  will  prevent 
the  natural  results,  is  a  cowardly  sneak  and  slacker.  If  our  free 
institutions  are  to  endure  we  must  have  good  citizens  and  their 
efforts  at  progress  and  uplift  must  not  be  neutralized  by  the 
selfish  or  anti  social.  Democracy  can  lead  in  the  world’s  progress 
only  as  it  approximates  a  theocracy, — the  rule  of  right,  justice, 
and  intelligence;  and  this  must  come  thru  the  character  of  th© 
private  citizen,  not  thru  any  miracle  from  the  skies. 

Democracy  and  Peace.  Democracy  loves  peace  and  demands 
it.  Pericles,  the  culmination  of  Athenian  democracy,  proposer- 
arbitration  to  prevent  the  Peloponnesian  war  wnich  ruined 
Greece.  Autocratic  Sparta  rejected  it.  Sparta,  Germany,  Turkev 
are  well  mated;  their  barbarities  show  the  real  spirit  of  au¬ 
tocracy.  Democracy  is  not  yet  safe;  never  was  it  so  assaulted 
as  now.  Give  autocracy  a  chance  and  it  will  crush  freedom 
again  as  it  often  has  before.  We  are  waging  this  war  to  mak* 
the  world  safe  for  democracy.  As  President  Wilson  said  in  his 
war  message: 

“A  steadfast  concert  for  peace  can  never  be  maintained  ex¬ 
cept  by  a  partnership  of  democratic  nations.  No  autocratic  gov¬ 
ernment  could  be  trusted  to  keep  faith  within  it  or  observe  its 
covenants.  It  must  be  a  league  of  honor,  a  partnership  of 
opinion.  Intrigue  would  eat  its  vitals  away;  the  plotting  of 
inner  circles  who  could  plan  what  they  would  and  render  an  ac¬ 
count  to  no  one  would  be  corruption  seated  at  its  very  heart. 
Only  free  peoples  can  hold  their  purpose  and  their  honor  steady 
to  a  common  end  and  prefer  the  interests  of  mankind  to  any 
narrow  interests  of  their  own.” 


120 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


STUDIES  ON  VI. 

Suggested  Questions  To  Aid  Discussion. 

1.  Would  a  stable  government,  which  never  required  any 
exertion  to  preserve,  be  better  for  us?  Why?  2.  Make  a  list 
of  all  the  tendencies  to  democracy  you  can  find.  3.  Make  a 
list  of  efforts  to  make  democracy  more  efficient.  4.  Which  ones 
would  be  the  most  effective  if  tried?  5.  Why  was  it  that  a  few 
years  ago  labelling  articles  “made  in  Germany”  helped  to  sell 
them?  6.  Were  German  manufacturers  more  honest  and  capa¬ 
ble  than  ours?  7.  Account  for  the  rapid  growth  of  German 
commerce.  8.  Why  does  not  autocracy  triumph  over  all?  6. 
Make  a  list  of  the  weaknesses  of  democracy.  10.  Can  they  all 
be  remedied?  11.  Which  do  you  prefer,  an  inefficient  democ¬ 
racy  or  an  efficient  autocracy?  Why?  12.  Make  a  list  of  the 
methods  or  means  by  which  a  representative  democracy — a  re¬ 
public — may  secure  the  advantages  of  a  pure  democracy.  13. 
Why  is  democracy  the  world’s  hope?  14.  Make  a  list  of  the 
chief  duties  of  citizens  in  a  democratic  state.  15.  Make  a  list  of 
the  advantages  of  being  a  citizen  of  a  democratic  state.  Also  the 
disadvantages.  16.  Make  a  list  of  the  advantages  of  being  a 
citizen  of  an  autocratic  state.  17.  Also  the  'disadvantages.  18. 
Why  does  the  individual  citizen  of  a  democracy  bear  a  greater 
share  of  responsibility  for  his  country’s  welfare  than  a  citizen 
of  an  autocracy?  19.  Why  must  a  democracy  have  better  citizens 
than  any  other  form  of  government?  20.  How  would  God  rule  a 
democracy?  21.  How  might  the  millennium  come? 

REFERENCES 

Weyl:  The  New  Democracy,  Bk.  II,  Chaps.  XI,  XVI— XX. 


VII.  RURAL  PROBLEMS. 

INTRODUCTION. 

The  Drift  to  Cities.  One  of  the  most  disquieting  facts  of  the 
modern  world  is  the  drift  of  the  population  away  from  the 
country.  “Back  to  the  land”  has  been  a  popular  slogan  but 
those  who  shout  it  most  do  not  practice  it.  It  is  common  to  all 
other  countries  as  well  as  ours.  It  seems  to  be  increasing  and 
there  is  nothing  yet  in  sight  which  seems  able  to  check  it.  The 
belief  is  common  that  it  must  be  stopt  or  social  progress  will 
be  seriously  checkt.  Farming  is  the  fundamental  occupation; 
nothing  can  prosper  unless  it  prospers.  If  the  farmer  suffers 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


121 


there  are  few  who  do  not  suffer  with  him.  The  simple  fact  that 
so  many  are  leaving  the  farm  shows  conclusively  that  they 
think  other  occupations  offer  greater  rewards. 

The  City  Drift  Not  Wholly  Bad.  So  far  as  the  drift  to  the 
towns  and  cities  is  caused  by  unfavorable  rural  conditions  it  is 
to  be  deplored  and  must  be  remedied  if  possible.  But  it  is  not 
altogether  due  to  that.  It  is  evident  that  those  who  live  in  the 
cities  must  be  fed  by  the  farmer,  so  the  greater  the  city  popu¬ 
lation  the  greater  the  market  for  his  products.  The  farmer 
certainly  could  not  be  helpt  by  the  lack  of  prosperity  of  the 
towns.  They  exist  largely  to  serve  him,  and  the  more  prosper¬ 
ous  they  are  the  better  they  are  able  to  serve  him. 

The  Effect  of  Farm  Machinery.  One  influence  is  the  effect 
of  the  increast  introduction  of  improvd  farm  machinery.  100 
years  ago  it  required  64  hours  of  man  labor  to  raise  on'e  acre  of 
wheat;  now,  with  the  help  of  machinery,  it  is  sometimes  reduced 
to  as  low  as  3  hours.  The  amount  of  labor  required  for  pro¬ 
ducing  our  most  important  crops  has  been  decreast  four-fifths 
since  1850.  Between  1880  and  1890  the  number  of  acres  per 
male  worker  increast  from  23.3  to  31  acres,  or  34  per  cent;  and 
the  value  of  the  crops  per  man  from  $286.82  to  $454.37.  Such 
facts  show  that  fewer  workers  are  needed  in  the  country  and 
they  naturally  drift  to  other  occupations.  At  present,  of  course, 
the  labor  shortage  is  serious  owing  to  the  number  of  men  in  the 
war. 

Intolerable  Uncertainty.  In  most  countries  farming  is  more 
or  less  a  gamble  with  seasons  and  prices.  The  farmer  may  work 
ever  so  skillfully  and  faithfully,  he  may  do  everything  that 
agricultural  science  and  experience  suggests,  he  may  toil  early 
and  late,  but  lack  of  rain  at  critical  times  may  annul  all  his 
efforts.  Prices  may  go  up  but  he  has  no  products  to  take  ad¬ 
vantage  of  it.  On  the  other  hand  if  the  season  is  good  prices 
are  off  and  he  gets  no  profit.  He  has  no  assurance  of  anything. 
Such  conditions  are  nerve  racking  and  disheartening.  If  he  have 
a  lucky  crop  occasionally  there  are  losses  of  other  years  to 
make  up.  The  state  might  furnish  drouth  insurance  so  that  the 
whole  population  -would  share  the  farmer’s  loss  from  drouth. 

Hard  Life.  The  farmer  enjoys  few  advantages  that  are  not 
offset  by  something.  Work  hours  are  longer  than  in  any  other 
industry;  ther'e  is  no  possibility  of  an  8  hour  day  on  most  farms. 
There  is  no  shelter  from  the  hottest  sun  nor  the  coldest  winds, 
nor  always  from  the  rain.  In  the  worst  weather  stock  must 
have  more  care  not  less.  When  a  crop  is  ripe  it  must  be  gathered 


122 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


by  day  or  night.  There  are  few  times  when  more  than  one  thing 
should  not  be  done  at  once.  There  is  almost  constant  overwork, 
worry,  and  physical  and  nervous  strain.  With  few  exceptions 
the  farmers  fare  is  coarse  and  monotonous.  Few  laborers  will 
work  on  farms  if  they  can  get  other  employment.  No  other 
occupation  involves  greater  hardships  than  the  farmer’s. 

isolation.  Not  only  is  the  life  hard,  but  meliorations  and 
compensations  are  limited.  At  night  the  farmer  and  his  family 
are  too  tired  to  read  or  study;  distances,  bad  roads,  and  tired 
teams  render  social  life  almost  impossible.  Neighborhood  meet¬ 
ings  are  impracticable  in  busy  times;  it  is  difficult  to  finish  the 
chores  and  get  to  the  meeting  place  before  9  o’clock,  and  no  one 
has  to  rise  earlier  than  the  farmer’s  boys  and  girls.  With  the 
enforced  renunciation  of  such  things  the  taste  for  them  dete¬ 
riorates,  and  often  the  desire  for  them,  so  that  farm  life  often 
becomes  a  sort’  of  solitary  confinement.  The  father  and  mother 
"get  used  to  it”  but  the  young  folks  cannot  and  should  not;  it  is 
the  starving  of  the  social  instincts  in  the  country  that  makes 
the  town  so  overwhelmingly  attractive  to  boys  and  girls  on 
the  farms. 

High  Price  of  Land.  Another  cause  of  the  drift  to  the  cities 
is  the  increasing  price  of  land.  It  is  doubtful  if  there  is  a  greater 
economic  delusion  than  the  belief  that  this  benefits  the  farmer. 
It  benefits  speculators  in  land  only,  and  the  farmer  can  only  be 
benefited  by  becoming  a  speculator.  High  priced  land  increases 
the  farmer’s  taxes  but  does  not  produce  any  larger  crops.  The 
only  way  the  farmer  can  profit  is  by  selling  out  and  going  into 
other  business,  for  if  he  buys  another  farm  he  must  pay  an 
equal  price.  Iowa  is  the  only  state  that  showd  loss  of  popula¬ 
tion  between  1900  and  1910.  The  loss  of  rural  population  was 
so  great  that  the  growth  of  the  towns  did  not  offset  it;  but  not¬ 
withstanding  the  loss  of  rural  population  the  price  of  farm  lands 
increast  greatly.  One  of  the  chief  causes  of  the  increase  in  ten¬ 
ancy  is  the  increasing  price  of  land.  Men  rent  farms  because 
they  cannot  own  them;  they  cannot  own  them  because  they  cost 
so  much;  they  cost  so  much  because  of  speculation  in  land. 
Land  and  life  are  so  intimately  connected  that  neither  can  be 
subjects  of  speculation  without  injury  to  some. 

Cooperation.  The  only  solution  of  most  rural  problems 
seems  to  be  “cooperation.”  The  isolation  makes  cooperation 
very  difficult  and  often  impossible  on  large  enuf  scale  to  be  ef¬ 
fective.  This  deprives  the  farmer  of  many  alleviations  and  he 
must  struggle  on  as  best  he  can  under  burdens  which  might  be 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS  123 

greatly  lightend  if  not  remov'ed  by  cooperation.  While  co¬ 
operation  has  accomplisht  wonders  in  Europe  it  does  not  seem 
to  be  gaining  much  among  American  farmers.  Community  gath¬ 
erings  as  at  threshing,  corn  “shuckings,”  house  raisings,  quilt¬ 
ings,  etc.,  are  rarer  now  than  formerly.  The  lack  of  cooperation 
weakens  the  farmer  to  an  isolated  individual  who  is  practically 
helpless  in  competition  with  highly  organized  business  interests. 

Cooperative  Marketing.  The  value  of  this  both  to  the  pro¬ 
ducer  and  consumer  has  been  fully  demonstrated  in  the  case  of 
melons,  apples,  oranges,  peaches,  strawberries,  and  other  fruits 
and  vegetables.  It  has  made  profitable  businesses  where  without 
it  no  business  was  possible.  It  is  certain  that  farming  can  never 
realize  its  maximum  profit  until  cooperative  marketing  becomes 
general,  and  it  is  fully  as  necessary  to  the  welfare  of  the  con¬ 
suming  public  as  it  is  to  the  farmers. 

Cooperative  Borrowing.  The  isolation  of  farmers  makes  it 
difficult  for  the  money  lender  to  keep  well  informed  about  the 
character  of  his  security.  It  is  with  difficulty  that  a  farmer’s 
neighbors  can  keep  reliably  informed  as  to  his  solvency;  for  the 
banker  in  the  distant  town  it  is  impossible.  The  most  success¬ 
ful  cooperative  borrowing  plan  ev'er  discovered  is  the  “Raiffeisen” 
system  in  Germany.  It  depends  entirely  on  the  cooperation  of 
neighboring  farmers.  The  agricultural  loan  law  recently  passt 
also  depends  on  local  organizations  which  are  only  a  form  of 
neighborhood  cooperation.  The  individual  farmer  cannot  com¬ 
mand  cheap  capital  promptly  but  a  group  of  them  can  do  so 
easily.  All  that  is  needed  is  some  kind  of  “Credit  Union”  which 
experience  in  many  lands  proves  to  be  safe  and  practicable. 

Cooperative  Machinery.  In  great  wh'eat  regions  in  Oregon 
and  Washington  small  farms  are  being  absorbd  into  the  great 
farms  owned  by  large  companies  which  can  afford  machinery 
out  of  the  reach  of  small  farmers,  who  cannot  compete  for  lack 
of  large  capital.  The  agricultural  achievements  of  Denmark  are 
the  greatest  the  world  has  yet  known,  and  one  of  the  chief 
causes  is  their  method  of  cooperation  in  buying  and  using  ma¬ 
chinery.  Every  farmer  cannot  afford  a  tractor,  but  several  could, 
and  in  urgent  times  could  keep  it  running  day  and  night.  The 
main  thing  is  a  spirit  of  cooperation;  if  that  be  not  lacking  the 
difficulties  are  by  no  means  insurmountable.  Few  individual 
farmers  can  afford  electric  light  or  irrigation  plants,  but  several 
farmers  cooperating  might  do  so  easily  and  safely. 

Good  Roads.  Since  isolation  is  the  farmer’s  greatest  foe  we 
are  interested  in  anything  which  will  diminish  or  remove  it. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


124 

Doubtless'  the  greatest  single  burden  or  tax  on  the  farmer  is  bad 
roads.  Ten  miles  of  bad  roads  makes  prosperous  farming  all  but 
impossible  in  addition  to  all  the  social  and  individual  losses  it 
causes.  Formerly  the  farmers  were  expected  to  keep  up  the 
country  roads  at  their  own  expense.  Since  the  entire  population 
is  equally  interested  in  good  roads,  both  the  state  and  nation 
should  assist  in  building  and  maintaining  them.  The  goal  should 
be  graded  cement  roads.  In  Illinois  it  is  proposed  to  borrow 
$100,000,000  for  road  building  and  set  aside  the  auto  tax  as  a 
sinking  fund  to  meet  it.  While  the  plan  is  practicable  it  would 
be  both  expedient  and  just  to  add  other  taxes  to  the  auto  tax. 
The  annual  value  to  the  farmers  alone  would  be  far  more  than 
the  interest  and  annual  payments. 

Exploiting  The  Farmer.  The  farmer  is  exploited,  tho  no¬ 
body  will  admit  that  he  does  it.  An  Oklahoma  farmer  started 
to  deliver  his  wheat  to  an  elevator  when  the  price  went  up. 
Immediately  the  price  dropt  10c  a  bushel.  The  difference  in  the 
price  of  wheat  is  sometimes  6c  a  bushel  in  neighboring  towns  on 
the  same  day.  By  arbitrarily  grading  the  farmer’s  wheat  the 
buyer  often  robs  him  of  part  of  the  price  and  there  is  no  appeal. 
One  year  when  farmers  and  stockmen  sufferd  greatly  from  vari¬ 
ation  in  the  price  of  cattle  the  market  price  in  Glasgow,  a  great 
European  market,  varied  less  than  lc  during  a  whole  year.  An 
association  of  farmers  tried  to  charter  ships  at  every  American 
port,  but  were  everywhere  told  that  all  the  cattle  space  had  been 
engaged  months  before.  Farmers  will  not  always  submit  to  such 
wrongs. 

Price  Control.  One  great  need  of  the  farmer  is  stableization 
of  prices  so  he  wrould  know  what  he  could  depend  on  and  so 
remove  one  of  the  gambles  from  farming.  Prices  on  a  farm  pro¬ 
duct  always  go  down  when  the  farmer  has  it  to  sell,  and  go  up 
as  soon  as  it  is  out  of  his  hands,  and  the  profit  goes  to  the 
middleman  and  speculator.  Farmers  loyally  submitted  when  the 
price  of  wheat  was  fixt  as  a  war  measure,  altho  they  lost  mil¬ 
lions  by  it.  A  thing  so  necessary  and  salutary  in  war  time  is 
not  without  value  in  time  of  peace.  The  nation  has  ruthlessly 
fixt  the  price  when  it  injured  the  farmer;  it  should  not  object  to 
fixing  it  so  it  would  profit  the  farmer.  It  would  be  equally  bene¬ 
ficial  to  the  consumer  for  he  pays  so  much  more  than  the  farmer 
receives.  No  one  can  witness  the  howling  mob  in  the  Chicago 
wheat  pit  without  marvelling  that  such  is  the  instrument  evolvd 
by  modern  civilization  for  making  prices  for  farmers.  The 
farmer  should  have  a  voice,  either  directly  or  thru  his  repre- 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS  125 

sentatives,  in  making  the  prices  of  his  products.  He  has  none 
whatever  now. 

Problem  Spiritual  Not  Material.  Altho  the  facts  already  re- 
ferd  to  are  important,  they  are  not  the  most  important  facts 
which  concern  our  theme.  The  chief  rural  problems  are  spir¬ 
itual  rather  than  material.  We  have  seen  how  important  is 
cooperation,  but  it  is  a  mental  not  a  material  fact.  The  mind 
can  triumph  over  even  distance  and  bad  roads.  We  turn  then  to 
the  more  clearly  spiritual  phazes  of  the  rural  problem.  Much 
of  the  failures  of  our  atempts  at  rural  betterment  are  due  to 
ignoring  the  spiritual  forces.  The  ultimate  forces  of  human 
life  are  spiritual. 

Social  Life  in  the  Country.  The  social  is  often  the  connect¬ 
ing  link  between  the  material  and  spiritual,  but  it  faces  towards 
the  spiritual.  We  have  considered  the  material  effects  of  isola¬ 
tion,  but  the  worst  isolation  is  to  be  surrounded  by  persons  who 
are  unfriendly  or  uncongenial.  The  effects  of  isolation  may  be 
revolutionized  by  changing  the  condition  of  the  mind.  Provision 
for  social  life  would  mitigate  most  of  the  material  evils.  For 
lack  of  social  opportunity  aspiring  youth  grow  up  on  the  farm 
dissatisfied,  unhappy,  and  determind  to  leave  it  as  soon  as  pos¬ 
sible.  Farmers  who  barely  know  each  other  cannot  cooperate. 
It  is  for  lack  of  pleasant  social  intercourse  that  they  cannot 
form  credit  unions,  or  in  any  way  organize  successfully.  For 
lack  of  social  experience  rural  youth  fail  to  learn  how  to  get  on 
with  others  and  develop  powers  of  leadership.  For  lack  of 
social  life  education  languishes  and  interest  in  it  is  hard  to  sus¬ 
tain.  The  social  and  spiritual  are  phazes  of  the  same  thing  and 
are  of  fundamental  importance  in  rural  life. 

Society  and  Happiness.  We  are  social  beings;  all  the  high¬ 
est  joys  of  life  are  social.  To  be  deprived  of  society  is  solitary 
confinement, — the  highest  of  all  punishments.  To  starve  the 
social  nature  is  to  divest  ourselves  of  the  noblest  possibilities  of 
mind  and  will.  There  is  no  hope  of  substantial  rural  improve¬ 
ment  until  the  social  life  can  be  increast  and  utilized.  While 
this  is  true  of  older  people  in  the  country,  it  is  very  much  more 
true  of  the  young  people.  The  lack  of  social  opportunity  is  one 
of  the  most  serious  aspects  of  the  rural  problem. 

Amusements.  Youth  will  find  amusement  of  some  kind  in 
spite  of  bolts  and  locksmiths;  but  they  may  not  be  of  a  stimu¬ 
lating  or  cultural  sort,  and  are  often  harmful  or  demoralizing. 
Where  wholesome  amusements  are  lacking  vice  is  inevitable. 
Of  all  rural  amusements  the  most  wholesome  and  usually  the 


126 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


most  popular  are  games.  Of  these  there  is  infinite  variety  and 
young  people  need  but  little  help  or  guidance  in  learning  them. 
There  is  one  rural  community  in  Oklahoma  where  the  school 
board  members  are  the  champions  of  the  district  in  playing 
volley  ball,  where  the  young  and  the  old  play  together,  where 
social  joys  rank  in  importance  with  labor  and  business.  In 
that  community  the  young  people  are  so  happy  that  nothing 
could  induce  them  to  leave  the  country  for  the  town. 

Singing.  In  human  nature  at  its  best  the  esthetic  nature  is 
prominent,  and  often  predominant,  hence  the  importance  of  art 
in  human  life.  Music  is  the  one  universal  art.  It  takes  years 
to  be  able  to  paint  a  picture,  but  a  child  may  sing  a  song  into 
the  hearts  of  the  world.  In  the  community  referd  to  above,  it 
was  thru  music  that  the  community  amusements  came.  They 
do  not  have  a  feud;  everybody  is  friendly;  they  like  to  sing  to¬ 
gether.  Music  is  a  great  harmonizer;  people  will  sing  together 
when  they  will  not  speak  as  they  meet,  and  sing  harmoniously 
too.  Stein,  the  German  statesman,  had  great  difficulty  in  arous¬ 
ing  the  German  states  against  Napoleon  till  he  got  communities 
to  singing  patriotic  songs.  Our  government  at  Washington  has 
sent  out  urgent  requests  to  every  community  in  the  present 
crisis  to  get  together  and  sing,  for  that  would  b’e  a  tremendous 
force  in  unifying  the  people  for  the  great  struggle.  No  social 
effort  will  go  farther  or  do  more  than  singing.  A  rural  com¬ 
munity  that  sings  together  will  be  progressive. 

Literary  Societies.  These,  while  much  more  difficult  to 
keep  up,  are  of  immense  value.  They  afford  a  very  wide  range 
of  intellectual  stimulus.  A  debating  club  is  easier  and  is  valu¬ 
able.  One  of  the  best  community  exercises  is  a  “Current  Topics 
Club.”  The  interest  is  more  vital,  the  debaters  speak  their  real 
convictions  and  try  to  convince  their  audiences;  they  get  fresh, 
vital  information,  and  the  range  of  subjects  may  cover  every¬ 
thing  that  is  going  on  in  the  world.  The  course  of  which  this 
bulletin  is  a  part,  is  an  effort  to  supply  materials  for  clubs. 

Consolidated  Schools.  Rural  education  will  be  considered  in 
another  chapter.  The  consolidated  school  seems  to  be  the  goal 
of  rural  education.  Where  there  are  good  enuf  roads  so  that 
the  transportation  problem  is  not  so  formidable  it  is  by  far  the 
best  plan  now  in  sight.  It  is  not  only  a  great  economy,  but  its 
non-educational  features  are  also  important.  In  one  rural  dis¬ 
trict  in  Ohio  containing  35  square  miles,  two  auto  busses  gather 
up  the  children  in  less  than  two  hours,  and  in  the  evening  they 
transport  the  young  and  old  to  the  school  house  for  lectures, 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


127 


concerts,  singings,  games,  etc.  While  the  older  people  are  to¬ 
gether  there  is  opportunity  tor  business  and  social  organizations, 
and  for  all  the  joys  and  privileges  of  social  life.  Instead  of  5  or 
6  Third  Reader  classes,  for  example,  there  is  only  one  with  ample 
time  for  real  instruction.  But  the  consolidated  school  ideal  can¬ 
not  be  reacht  without  good  roads. 

The  Rural  Course  of  Study.  Some  are  advocating  a  differ¬ 
ent  course  of  study  for  rural  schools.  Rural  education  should 
be  as  broad  as  any.  To  educate  rural  children  differently  would 
compel  them  either  to  st&y  on  the  farm  or  leave  it  at  a  great 
disadvantage.  This  is  the  German  plan.  A  child  is  educated 
for  the  occupation  chosen  for  him  and  he  must  stick  to  it  thru 
life.  But  great  improvements  are  needed  in  the  rural  courses 
of  study.  There  should  be  much  more  nature  study;  there 
should  be  more  contact  with  things  not  pictures  of  them.  Agri¬ 
culture,  Domestic  Science  and  Art  should  be  given  a  more  prom¬ 
inent  place  as  more  nature  study  prepares  the  way  for  them. 
Botany  should  be  one  of  the  leading  studies;  zoology,  and  espe¬ 
cially  entomology  and  ornithology  should  rank  with  botany  and 
the  three  R’s;  the  pupil  should  study  the  world  he  lives  in,  the 
educational  results  would  equal  the  industrial.  Domestic  science 
and  agriculture  are  applications  of  botany,  chemistry,  etc.  The 
results  of  teaching  the  former  will  always  be  disappointing  un¬ 
less  enaf  of  the  latter  is  taught  as  a  foundation. 

Leaving  Home  for  Education.  This  is  usually  a  great  ad¬ 
vantage  after  pupils  are  mature  enuf;  but  when  they  must  leave 
before  the  high  school  age  it  is  often  a  calamity  from  the  stand¬ 
point  of  both  community  and  individual.  Under  present  condi¬ 
tions  a  very  large  proportion  of  those  who  once  leave  the  farm 
never  return  to  it.  Only  the  consolidated  school  can  prevent 
this  by  furnishing  a  high  school  education  at  home.  Those  who 
leave  home  at  the  beginning  of  the  high  school  age  are  at  the 
most  critical  time  of  life,  the  time  when  parental  care  is  finish¬ 
ing  its  work.  Not  only  do  such  children  lose  what  the  last  years 
at  home  might  do  for  them,  but  their  going  away  at  that  time 
is  an  irreparable  loss  to  the  social  life  of  the  community  and  to 
their  own  homes.  Good  roads  will  bring  the  consolidated  school 
and  that  will  solve  the  problem. 

Harmony.  A  neighborhood  fuss  is  the  greatest  of  rural  ca¬ 
lamities.  It  paralyzes  all  social  and  even  business  effort  by 
preventing  co-operation.  The  most  invaluable  citizen  is  the 
peacemaker,  and  to  be  one  is  the  noblest  social  ambition.  The 
Church  has  never  taken  seriously  enuf  its  function  as  a  peace- 


128 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


maker,  an  appropriate  activity  for  the  followers  of  the  Prince 
of  Peace.  In  all  human  society  there  is  no  greater  service,  and 
no  other  service  is  so  desperately  needed.  Church  divisions, 
especially  in  small  communities,  are  often  the  greatest  obstacles 
to  community  unity  and  co-operation.  In  rural  communities  de¬ 
nominations  are  evidently  impossible;  there  are  not  enuf  people 
to  go  ’round.  Each  blames  the  other  for  the  divisions  but  that 
does  no  good  and  often  aggravates  the  evil.  The  problem  of 
the  rural  church  is  one  of  the  most  insistent  problems  of  our 
day.  Denominationalism  is  evidently  depriving  rural  communi¬ 
ties'  of  a  large  part  of  the  ministries  of  the  Christian  religion. 
Yet  the  Master  prayed  that  we  might  all  be  one.  How  much 
longer  will  the  chufch  take  on  itself  the  responsibility  of  pre¬ 
venting  the  answer  to  that  prayer? 

Land  for  Returning  Soldiers.  Much  is  being  said  in  this  and 
other  lands  of  trying  to  discharge  in  part  the  debt  due  the  re¬ 
turning  soldiers  by  settling  them  on  vacant  land,  and  some  pre¬ 
parations  have  been  begun  for  doing  this.  When  they  return 
there  will  be  thousands  of  them  who  will  not  be  able  to  get  ready 

employment.  The  money  they  have  saved  in  the  army  will  soon 

« 

be  gone  for  it  goes  fast  while  seking  work.  But  if  we  are  to  at¬ 
tempt  to  establish  the  returning  soldiers  in  agriculture  the  pres¬ 
sure  for  rural  betterment  and  reform  is  strong  indeed.  Unless 
we  can  very  greatly  improve  rural  conditions  it  would  be  singular 
ingratitude  to  consign  soldiers  to  a  life  so  many  are  trying  to 
escape  from. 

Cur  Chiefest  Problem.  No  other  solution  of  the  demobiliza 
tion  problem  seems  possible.  Rural  conditions  can  be  betterd; 
society  can  do  justice  to  the  farmer,  and  it  must.  This  is  our 
chief  problem;  all  others  can  wait. 

STUDY  ON  CHAP.  VII. 

Suggested  Questions  To  Aid  Discussion. 

1.  Which  is  the  pleasanter  place  to  live,  the  town  or  the 
country?  2.  What  does  the  drift  to  the  cities  indicate?  3. 
What  evils  to  the  country  result  from  it?  4.  What  evils  to  the 
towns?  5.  Why  is  a  home  owner  a  better  citizen  of  a  rural 
community  than  a  tenant?  6.  In  what  sense  does  the  town  exist 
to  serve  the  country?  7.  Which  is  the  more  fundamentally 
necessary?  8.  Should  the  national  or  state  government  furnish 
drouth  insurance?  9.  Make  a  list  of  the  hardships  of  the  farm¬ 
er’s  life.  10.  Why  are  social  gatherings  at  night  so  difficult  in 
the  country?  11.  How  is  the  farmer  benefited  by  the  increas- 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS  129 

ing  price  of  land?  12.  How  could  speculation  in  land  by  those 
who  do  not  live  in  the  country  be  discouraged?  13.  Is  co-opera¬ 
tion  among  farmers  increasing  or  decreasing?  14.  Why  is  co¬ 
operative  marketing  necessary?  15.  Why  is  the  spirit  of  co¬ 
operation  more  necessary  than  good  methods?  16.  Should  those 
who  are  now  living  pay  all  the  cost  of  good  roads,  or  share  the 
expense  with  those  who  are  to  live  after  them?  17.  If  roads  are 
built  by  bonds,  show  how  they  would  help  pay  for  themselves. 
IS.  What  do  you  think  of  the  Illinois  plan?  19.  Must  farmers 
unite  to  prevent  being  exploited?  20.  How  would  price  control 
by  a  government  commission  benefit  the  farmer?  21.  Are  ru¬ 
ral  problems  primarily  material  or  spiritual?  22.  Why  is  social 
life  important  in  the  country?  23.  Is  it  more  necessary  than  in 
the  towns,  or  less?  24.  Why  is  there  so  much  less  playing  for 
children  in  the  country  than  in  the  towns?  25.  Why  is  com¬ 
munity  singing  so  valuable  in  rural  life?  26.  Why  is  it  harder 
to  keep  good  order  in  rural  gatherings  than  in  the  towns  27. 
Make  a  list  of  the  advantages  of  consolidated  schools.  28.  What 
is  the  chief  obstacle?  29.  Why  should  nature  study  be  given  a 
more  prominent  place  in  rural  schools?  30.  Why  should  the 
pupil  study  the  world  he  lives  in?  31.  Would  Church  Federa¬ 
tion  answer  the  prayer  of  Jesus?  32.  Would  giving  the  soldiers 
free  land  discharge  our  duty  to  them?  33.  Would  making  farm¬ 
ing  more  safe  and  profitable  bring  the  other  things  needed?  34 
Why  are  rural  problems  the  most  urgent  and  important? 

REFERENCES 

Hart:  Educational  Resources,  Chapters  IV,  VIII — XIII. 


VIII.  THE  WAGE  SYSTEM. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Increasing  Unrest.  Whether  justifiable  or  not,  there  is  in¬ 
creasing  dissatisfaction  among  wage  earners  everywhere.  It 
was  one  of  the  most  serious  and  dangerous  obstacles  to  the  suc¬ 
cessful  prosecution  of  the  war.  When  those  who  are  dissatisfied 
find  themselves  helpless,  they  easily  become  desperate.  It  was 
labor  conditions  which  gave  traitorous  d’emagogs  the  opportunity 
to  ruin  Russia.  No  nation  is  safe  while  a  large  part  of  its  peo¬ 
ple  are  dissatisfied.  To  meet  such  complaints  with  denunciation 
or  a  show  of  force  only  makes  the  matter  worse,  tho  it  dam  up 


i3o  UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 

the  flood  for  a  while.  The  first  need  is  candid  and  sympathetic 
investigation. 

A  Few  Definitions.  It  is  not  necessary  to  distinguish  here 
between  wages  and  salaries.  The  chief  difference  is  that  sal¬ 
aries  are  for  longer  periods  and  are  not  subject  to  little  losses 
of  time, — this  is  not  essential  to  the  present  investigation.  A 
minimum  wage  is  the  least  wage  permitted  by  law  where  wages 
are  regulated.  A  living  wage  is  the  least  wage  that  will  support 
the  worker  and  enable  him  to  support  an  average  family.  A  fair 
wage  from  the  standpoint  of  the  employer  is  as  high  a  wage 
as  is  paid  by  his  competitors  under  equal  conditions;  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  laborer  it  is  a  reasonable  proportion  of  the 
labor  product.  The  wage  fund  is  the  proportion  of  the  earnings 
of  a  business  which  is  available  for  wages  after  providing  for 
other  expenses.  The  closed  shop  is  a  business  establishment 
which  employs  only  members  of  a  labor  union;  an  open  shop  is 
one  which  employs  any  labor. 

Wage  Theories.  The  philosophy  of  wages  is  by  no  means 
simple;  authorities  are  not  agreed  upon  even  the  fundamental 
principles.  The  one  most  commonly  held  now  is  the  “Produc¬ 
tivity  Theory,” — That  wages  are  paid  from  the  products  of  labor. 
On  this  theory  part  of  the  product  of  labor  belongs  to  the  labor¬ 
er  by  moral  and  economic  right.  On  the  other  hand,  wages  cm 
never  long  exceed  the  actual  earnings  of  labor,  so  wages  cannot 
be  uniform.  The  subject  is  exceedingly  involved  and  compli¬ 
cated  and  is  not  yet  fully  understood. 

What  Are  Wages?  The  older  theory  was,  that  wages  is  the 
amount  necessary  to  sustain  life.  Ricardo  defines  it  as  “The 
price  which  is  necessary  to  enable  the  labor'ers  to  subsist  and 
perpetuate  their  race.”  Against  this  the  laborer  rebels.  Under  it 
he  would  have  to  live  from  hand  to  mouth;  he  would  not  be 
entitled  to  save  or  to  better  his  condition.  While  this  defini¬ 
tion  is  no  longer  held  by  economists  it  still  influences  the  atti¬ 
tudes  and  discussions  of  both  employers  and  employees.  If, 
however,  the  laborer’s  right  to  a  profit  were  admitted  Ricardo’s 
definition  might  stand  as  far  as  it  goes. 

Nominal  and  Real  Wages.  We  must  not’e  this  distinction. 
The  former  is  measured  in  money  only;  the  latter  by  the  pur¬ 
chasing  power  of  the  wages.  If,  for  example,  a  man  receive  $4, 
a  day  for  two  successive  years,  we  ordinarily  say  that  hs  wages 
were  unchanged  during  that  time.  But  if  the  cost  of  living  was 
doubled  during  the  second  year  it  is  evident  that  his  wages 
would  not  purchase  as  many  of  the  necessaries  of  life  that  year; 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


131 

that  is,  the  purchasing  power  of  his  wages  was  less  the  second 
year.  While  his  nominal  wages  remaind  unchanged  his  real 
wages  were  greatly  reduced.  The  employer  might  justly  claim 
from  his  standpoint  that  he  paid  the  same  wages  both  years, 
while  the  employee  might  claim  with  equal  justice  that  he  re¬ 
ceived  very  much  less  the  second  year. 

The  Different  Standpoints.  The  trouble  with  both  sides  of 
the  controversy  is  that  it  is  so  difficult  for  either  to  see  the 
problem  from  the  other’s  standpoint.  This  makes  negotiation 
extremely  difficult.  Such  conditions  are  full  of  danger  and  peace¬ 
ful  solution  may  easily  become  impossible.  Social  peace  and 
social  justice  require  that  both  employer  and  employe  try  to  do> 
full  justice  to  each  other’s  point  of  view.  Partisanship  can  only 
widen  the  breach  and  make  matters  worse.  That  either  side 
should  conquer  the  other  in  a  labor  war  or  any  other  kind  of 
war  should  be  unthinkable,  for  in  the  end  they  must  find  some 
way  to  work  together.  Ruinous  labor  wars,  like  those  of  ancient 
Rome,  leave  matters  unchanged  and  nothing  is  gaind. 

Labor  As  A  Commodity.  The  theory  is  often  held  that  labor 
is  a  commodity  to  be  bought  and  sold  in  the  labor  market;  the 
laborer  must  sell  his  labor  for  what  he  can  get  and  should  not 
complain  if  he  cannot  get  what  he  wishes  any  more  than  one 
selling  stock  or  merchandise.  It  seems  clear  that  there  is  much 
similarity  at  least  between  labor  and  commodities.  But  the 
wage  earner  insists  that  the  laborer  and  his  labor  are  insepa¬ 
rable.  If  the  laborer  has  nothing  but  his  labor  to  give  him  his 
hold  on  life  it  is  not  clear  how  labor  can  be  bought  and  sold 
unless  the  laborer  is  too;  that  is,  if  labor  is  a  commodity  the 
laborer  is  practically  a  slave,  and  the  wage  system  a  species  of 
slavery. 

Unstable  Wages.  The  laborer  objects  that  under  the  wage 
system  it  is  impossible  to  make  either  nominal  or  real  wages 
uniform.  The  laborer’s  margin  is  small  at  best,  and  when  wages 
vary  he  is  unable  to  keep  his  promises,  fulfill  his  agreements, 
he  loses  his  investments,  he  cannot  do  business  as  others  do. 
He  cannot  be  a  man  among  men.  His  life  becomes  a  gamble 
with  all  kinds  of  chance  and  he  is  not  even  permitted  to  throw 
the  dice.  He  cannot  safely  undertake  to  buy  a  home,  take  out 
life  insurance;  he  cannot  live  a  normal  life  or  have  a  normal 
chance  to  get  on.  Such  is  the  laborer’s  view. 

The  Distribution  of  Wealth.  The  wage  system  is  a  part  of 
the  general  system  of  the  distribution  of  wealth.  The  wage 
earner  contends  that  our  present  system  is  not  successful  in  se- 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


132 

curing  a  just  and  equitable  distribution.  One  per  cent  of  the 
population  of  the  United  States  own  more  than  one-half  of  the 
total  wealth,  and  labor  feels  that  it  does  not  get  a  share  which 
is  proportional  to  the  value  and  importance  of  labor  to  society. 
They  feel  also  that  great  wealth  is  not  always  fairly  or  honestly 
obtaind.  The  freight  on  oil  from  Cleveland  to  New  York  was 
$2.5 G  a  barrel.  Rockefeller  drove  such  a  bargain  with  railway 
officials  that  he  not  only  got  a  rebate  of  $1.06  on  every  barrel  of 
oil  he  shipt  but  on  every  barrel  shipt  by  his  competitors!  This 
was  the  beginning  of  the  Rockefeller  fortune.  If  society  expects 
that  the  distribution  of  wealth  will  be  accepted  as  final  it  should 
insure  that  the  distribution  is  fair  and  just. 

The  Law  of  Supply  and  Demand.  Many  argue  that  wages 
must  be  subject  to  this  law  and  that  there  is  no  possible  escape 
from  it.  Is  this  true?  Labor  holds  that  there  is  a  human  side 
to  wages;  that  it  is  not  merely  a  matter  of  economic  law,  indif¬ 
ferent,  brutal,  inhuman.  Human  life  and  its  significance  are  in- 
volvd.  The  wage  earner  maintains  that  if  the  law  of  supply  and 
demand  crushes  millions  of  lives  and  makes  hopeless  the  lives 
of  half  the  human  race  it  must  be  set  aside.  Sometimes,  too, 
the  alleged  supply  and  demand  are  fictitious  and  untrustworthy 
and  such  momentious  interests  cannot  be  entrusted  to  laws 
based  upon  them.  Humanity  is  far  more  than  its  supplies  and 
demands  and  the  right  to  life  must  come  first. 

The  Subordination  of  the  Worker.  Mr.  Carnegie,  defending 
the  wage  system,  says  of  the  Golden  Age  of  Industry,  “The  mil¬ 
lionaire  wiT  be  the  trustee  for  the  poor,  intrusted  with  a  great 
part  of  the  wealth  of  the  community,  but  administering  it  for 
the  community  far  better  than  it  could  or  would  have  been  done 
for  itself.”  Undoubtedly  Mr.  Carnegie  has  tried  to  do  this,  at 
least  to  a  creditable  extent,  but  is  it  entirely  satisactory?  Such 
trustees  are  self-appointed  at  best  and  few  are  as  altruistic  as 
Mr.  Carnegie.  But  even  if  it  could  be  guaranteed  that  every 
millionaire  wou'd  make  such  use  of  his  money,  would  it  be  best 
for  the  world?  We  might  make  the  same  argument  for  autoc¬ 
racy  in  government.  It  is  doubtless  true  that  many  people 
would  be  better  off  finanacially  if  some  one  else  managed  their 
business  for  them,  but  would  it  be  best  for  them  in  the  widest 
sense,  or  for  the  world? 

Unemployment.  It  is  a  familiar  statement  that  the  unem¬ 
ployed  soon  become  the  unemployable.  The  threat  of  poverty 
should  be  enuf,  but  in  addition  to  that  is  the  certainty  of 
deterioration.  Nothing  takes  the  stamina  out  of  a  man  like 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


t  33 


unemployment.  To  the  ambitious,  aspiring  workman  no  terror 
is  equal  to  it,  for  it  not  only  deprives  him  of  the  means  of 
living,  but  attacks  his  personality.  It  is  the  way  tramps  are 
made.  He  may  be  as  dependent  as  a  slave,  tho  in  a  different  way. 
If  he  has  a  family  hungry  and  sick  he  is  likely  to  grovel  at  the 
feet  of  the  employer.  It  is  preposterous  to  claim  that  there 
is  anything  like  equal  bargaining  between  employer  and  em¬ 
ployee. 

Enforced  idleness.  It  is  often  said  that  “Any  one  can  get 
work  who  wants  it.”  That  was  once  urged  upon  a  distinguisht 
American  preacher  by  members  of  his  church.  He  disguised 
himself  so  that  his  wife  wouldn’t  know  him  and  called  upon 
the  same  members  with  a  pitiful  story.  He  would  not  ask  for 
charity  and  not  one  of  them  would  give  him  work,  and  some 
abused  him  roundly.  Next  Sunday  he  read  to  an  amazed 
audience  the  exact  words  which  were  said  to  him.  It  was  to 
the  credit  of  his  church  that  it  loved  and  trusted  him  more  than 
ever,  but  no  one  ever  repeated  the  remark  to  him.  There  are 
doubtless  many  out  of  work  because  of  their  own  fault,  (or  mis¬ 
fortune)  but  that  must  not  prevent  our  sympathy  for  those  who 
in  desperate  need  walk  the  streets  day  after  day  with  sinking 
courage,  seeking  for  an  opportunity  to  live  in  God’s  world, 
with  sometimes  a  hungry  wife  and  children  huddled  in  some 
dismal  cellar.  To  steel  one’s  heart  against  such  suffering  and 
degradation  is  unworthy  of  a  good  citizen  or  a  Christian.  Labor 
says  that  the  wage  system  is  responsible.  Is  it  true? 

War  and  Unemployment.  However  skiFful  demobilization  is 
managed  it  will  leave  many  soldiers  unemployed.  The  spectacle 
of  soldiers  going  thru  the  experience  of  unemployment  in  the 
midst  of  a  nation  whose  honor  and  safety  they  riskt  all  to  save 
is  intolerable  to  the  patriotic  citizen.  Most  of  the  so’diers 
came  from  the  ranks  of  labor  and  they  will  come  back  with  a 
new  claim  to  justice  and  fairness.  Under  our  present  system 
most  of  our  taxes  are  shifted  and  finally  rest  upon  the  wage 
earner.  The  present  debt  is  too  great  for  that;  some  other 
way  will  have  to  be  found.  Certainly  we  cannot  ask  the  soldier 
to  pay  it.  A  labor  soldier  kiTed  or  disabled  leaves  a  family 
all  but  destitute;  and  while  a  pension  provides  bare  subsistence 
it  cannot  replace  the  bread  winner.  The  rich  will  have  to 
face  a  new  appeal  when  the  soldiers  come  home. 

Effects  of  Specialization.  When  a  laborer  devotes  himself 
exclusive-^  to  one  line  of  work  he  becomes  very  skilled  in  it, 
is  much  more  valuable  to  his  employer,  and  usually  receives  a 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


134 

higher  wage.  But  the  more  he  narrows  his  range  the  fewer 
jobs  there  are  opend  to  him;  he  becomes  more  uncertain  of 
employment  and  more  dependent  on  the  will  and  whim  of  his 
employer.  The  wage  earner  feels  that  if  he  can  do  but  one 
thing  his  chance  to  live  depends  on  the  few  who  have  that 
work  to  offer  him,  so  that  his  very  excellence  becomes  his 
peril.  Even  if  the  wage  earner’s  beliefs  are  often  fallacious  we 
must  try  to  get  his  standpoint. 

Profit  and  Wages.  Labor  is  often  criticized  because  it 
demands  shorter  hours  than  men  in  business  usually  work.  The 
head  of  the  firm  often  works  more  hours  and  has  fewer  holidays 
than  any  of  his  employees.  There  is  a  wide  difference  in 
working  for  a  profit  and  working  for  wages.  The  laborer  is 
not  encouraged  to  have  any  interest  in  his  work  beyond  his 
wages.  A  man  once  appealed  to  Stephen  Girard  for  work. 
Not  having  any  work  for  him  he  put  him  to  removing  a  pile  of 
stone.  The  man  soon  reported  the  work  done  and  Girard  told 
him  to  carry  them  back  and  he  refused.  Girard  dismist  him  on 
the  ground  that  if  he  was  getting  wages  he  had  no  right  to 
consider  whether  his  work  was  useful  or  not.  One  of  the  greatest 
objections  to  the  wage  system  is  that  it  centers  the  worker’s 
interest  in  his  wages  instead  of  in  th'e  quality  of  his  work.  Such 
workers  would  never  build  Gothic  cathedrals. 

Piece  Work  and  Wages.  Workmen  who  are  more  rapid  and 
skillful  can  work  by  the  job  much  more  profitably  than  for 
wages,  because  wages  can  never  exceed  the  average  productivity. 
But  the  use  of  this  principle  gives  us  the  infamous  ‘‘sweating” 
system  which  by  common  consent  is  the  most  frightful  labor 
condition  the  world  has  yet  seen.  Thoughtful  labor  leaders 
favor  paying  all  laborers  on  a  job  the  same  wages  rather  than 
risk  extension  of  the  sweating  system.  While  the  principle  is 
totally  wrong  they  adhere  to  it  as  a  choice  of  evils.  It  seems 
that  there  is  no  principle,  however  just,  that  cannot  be  mis¬ 
applied  and  misdirected,  and  made  an  injury  instead  of  a 
benefit. 

What  is  a  Fair  Wage?  This  is  the  difficulty.  There  seems 
no  way  to  determine  a  wage  that  both  employer  and  employee 
will  consider  fair  under  all  circumstances.  The  price  of  products 
varies  greatly;  when  high,  labor’s  portion  would  be  larger  than 
when  prices  were  low.  But  labor  must  be  paid  promptly,  and 
before  the  sale  of  goods  when  the  laborer’s  share  could  be 
known.  If  labor  is  overpaid  the  employer’s  ability  to  hire  labor 
is  impaired  or  destroyed  and  the  laborer  is  thrown  out  of  em- 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


135 

ployment  or  retained  at  lower  wages.  The  problem  is  to  estab¬ 
lish  a  fixt  wage  for  a  service  with  varying  market  value. 

The  Employer  is  Not  Free.  The  employer  must  meet  com¬ 
petition.  If  his  competitor  pay  too  low  wages  he  cannot  pay 
more  and  keep  his  business.  He  must  be  able  to  meet  the  risks 
of  markets,  depreciation  of  goods,  bad  debts,  miscalculations  of 
all  sorts,  besides  all  the  predictable  expenses.  Ely  says,  “Em¬ 
ployers  cannot  by  any  means  do  as  they  please;  but  after  a 
century’s  experience,  there  is  a  widespread  feeling  that  in  all 
these  bargains  about  wages  the  workman  is  at  a  disadvantage, 
and  does  not  get  the  share  which  it  would  be  well  for  him  to 
have.”  The  right  wage,  then,  is  not  a  matter  for  acrimonious 
discussion  or  denunciation;  but  a  matter  of  conflicting  interests 
where  it  is  seemingly  difficult  to  see  what  (s  right  or  just. 
Conditions  change  so  rapidly  that  even  if  an  adjustment  were 
reacht  it  would  not  hold  for  very  long. 

The  Employer  and  Low  Wages.  It  is  generally  assumed  by 
labor  leaders  that  of  course  the  employer  favors  low  wages; 
the  lower  the  better  for  him.  This  is  by  no  means  the  case. 
It  makes  little  difference  to  the  employ'er  what  wages  are  paid 
so  long  as  he  is  able  to  recoup  them  from  the  public.  Experience 
proves  conclusively  that  the  lowest  wages  are  by  no  means  the 
most  profitable  to  employers.  Well  paid  workmen  are  better 
satisfied,  more  loyal,  more  capable,  healthier  and  in  every  way 
more  valuable  than  underpaid  workmen.  Employers  know  this 
but  are  restrained  by  competition  and  the  uncertainties  of 
business.  Here  again  the  destruction  of  confidence  in  the 
validity  and  honesty  of  prices  is  a  calamity.  The  problem  is 
fundamentally  a  moral  one. 

Wages  and  Needs.  It  is  evident  that  on  an  average  labor 
should  be  paid  enuf  to  meet  all  essential  needs.  But  very  often 
a  business  is  not  able  to  do  this,  and  there  are  times  when 
almost  every  business  must  advance  money  for  wages.  Business 
is  often  run  at  a  loss  for  a  time  in  order  to  keep  employees  from 
suffering;  some  do  this  for  a  portion  of  every  year.  Wages  must 
finally  be  based  on  the  productiveness  of  the  labor  employd. 
If  a  business  cannot  make  money  enuf  to  pay  labor  adequately 
it  is  easy  to  say  that  that  business  ought  not  to  be  run,  but  if 
carried  on  for  awhile  it  might  become  profitable.  To  base  wages 
on  needs  is  impossible,  yet  needs  should  not  be  disregarded  in 
estimating  wages. 

Wages  and  Improvidence.  A  sudden  rise  in  wsges  is  often 
attended  by  extravagant  expenditure;  sometimes  much  of  it 


136  UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 

for  luxuries  which  the  wealthy  cannot  afford.  Factory  girls 
have  been  known  to  wear  silk  dresses  to  their  work;  much  goes 
for  drink  and  other  vices,  so  that  often  the  additional  wage  is 
more  of  a  curse  than  a  blessing.  But  wage  earners  are  not 
the  only  people  who  sometimes  squander  their  money.  What 
a  workman  does  with  his  money  makes  no  possible  difference 
with  what  his  wages  should  be;  if  he  has  a  right  to  it  it  is  his, 
whatever  he  does  with  it.  We  may  regret  his  folly  and  hope 
that  when  he  becomes  more  accustomd  to  money  he  will  spend 
it  more  wisely.  But  to  the  great  majority  of  workmen  higher 
wages  means  greater  thrift,  more  self-control,  and  better  pro¬ 
vision  for  the  higher  things  of  life. 

A  Living  Wage.  It  is  inconceivable  that  any  good  citizen 
would  advocate  paying  less  than  a  living  wage;  it  would  differ 
little  from  stealing  or  murder.  We  assume  that  all  have  the 
“right  to  life,”  but  what  does  that  mean?  To  take  away  any 
essential  of  life  is  to  partly  take  away  life  itself.  Investigations 
in  Chicago  and  New  York  showd  that  the  least  that  a  family  of 
five, — 2  parents  and  three  children — could  live  on  was  $800  a 
year.  Yet  four-fifths  of  such  families  receive  less  than  $750, 
and  one-thijd  ’ess  than  $500  a  year.  Tf  wages  cannot  be  raised 
to  a  living  level  the  laborer  claims  that  the  wage  system  is  a 
failure  and  can  only  be  continued  by  wronging  labor.  But  if 
employers  pay  all  they  can,  how  can  they  do  more,  however 
insufficient  wages  may  be?  If  they  pay  more  they  must  fail  in 
business  and  then  pay  nothing  at  all. 

Wage  Competition.  The  man  out  of  employment  soon  gets 
desperate.  It  is  often  said  that  a  man  is  free  to  work  or  not 
as  he  chooses.  This  is  palpably  false.  He  must  work  or  be 
punisht;  he  must  work  or  suffer  extremely, — hunger,  cold,  sick¬ 
ness,  starvation, — than  which  there  are  no  punishments  more 
terrible.  Under  such  conditions  nothing  can  prevent  one  laborer 
from  under  bidding  another  nor  some  employers  from  taking 
advantage  of  it.  Employers  have  much  to  say  about  “freedom 
of  contract,”  but  is  the  laborer  always  really  free? 

Wages  and  Unemployment.  Unless  a  large  number  of  labor¬ 
ers  are  unemployed  the  wage  system  would  not  be  satisfactory 
to  employers,  for  it  is  this  which  keeps  wages  down  and  furnishes 
extra  laborers  for  unusual  demands.  The  more  nearly  all  labor¬ 
ers  are  employd  the  higher  employers  would  have  to  bid  to  get 
what  they  want.  But  unemployment  itself  is  a  serious  dimuni¬ 
tion  of  wages.  The  man  who  gets  $6  a  day  for  half  time  is  only 
getting  $3  a  day,  for  human  needs  do  not  stop  with  unemploy- 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


1 37 


ment.  But  enforced  unemployment  is  one  of  the  greatest  hard¬ 
ships  that  can  be  inflicted  upon  a  human  being.  It  is  a  fearful 
thing.  Now  so  far  as  the  success  of  the  wage  system  depends 
on  unemployment  it  is  clearly  not  the  final  solution  of  the  labor 
problem. 

Employment  Bureaus.  Some  attempts  to  meet  the  evils  of 
unemployment  have  been  made  by  the  establishment  of  free 
employment  bureaus.  When  these  are  conducted  for  profit 
laborers  are  too  often  exploited.  At  best  it  has  to  pay  for  the 
service  when  it  has  nothing  to  pay  with,  and  so  must  mortgage 
future  wages.  They  are  at  best  a  desperate  resort.  When  sup¬ 
ported  by  the  public  and  administered  by  sympathetic  officials 
they  may  do  something  to  mitigate  the  evils  of  unemployment 
but  cannot  remove  them.  The  unemployd  workman  cannot  pay 
traveling  expenses;  he  cannot  even  afford  to  be  idle. 

The  Labor  Union.  Since  \vages  changes  are  constantly 
threatened,  on  the  one  hand  pressure  for  their  lowering  and  on 
the  other  demands  for  their  increase  it  is  necessary  for  laborers 
to  form  a  permanent  organization.  They  cannot  be  blamed  for 
feeling  that  in  unity  there  is  strength.  It  is  natural,  too,  that 
such  an  organization  should  not  confine  itself  to  collecMve 
bargaining  but  try  to  safeguard  every  interest  of  the  laboring 
man.  The  more  wrongs  the  Union  helps  to  right  the  greater 
service  it  renders  to  its  members  the  stronger  it  wiT  be,  the 
greater  will  be  its  influence  over  its  members,  and  the  more 
they  will  sacrifice  for  it.  Opposition  can  only  strengthen  them; 
the  more  they  are  persecuted  the  stronger  they  will  become. 
The  only  way  to  weaken  the  union  is  to  render  it  unnecessary. 
No  union,  for  example,  could  accomplish  much  with  the  em¬ 
ployees  of  Henry  Ford  for  he  renders  them  a  greater  service 
than  any  union  cou’d. 

Wage  Bargaining.  The  chief  function  for  which  the  labor 
union  exists  is  collective  bargaining.  It  is  evident  that  a  large 

number  of  laborers  are  more  indespensable  than  any  one  of 

* 

them.  If,  then,  they  combine  in  bargaining  for  wages  they  have 
a  great  advantage  over  individual  bargaining.  The  employer 
might  easily  replace  any  one  of  them  but  could  not  replace  all 
without  great  inconvenience  and  often  great  loss.  Employees 
have  an  undoubted  common  interest  in  their  wages  and  there 
seems  no  sound  reason  why  they  should  not  combine  in  bargain¬ 
ing  if  they  find  it  to  their  advantage.  Employers  who  cooperate 


138 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


themselves  have  no  good  ground  for  objecting  to  their  laborers 
doing  the  same. 

The  Menace  of  the  Union.  Members  of  unions  are  human 
beings  like  other  people;  they  are  not  infalliable.  They  usually 
support,  for  example,  a  uniform  wage  regardless  of  the  actual 
worth  of  the  workman.  This  is  universally  condemnd  both  by 
ethics  and  economics  as  ruinous  policy.  However  much  we 
may  admire  the  solidarity  and  self-sacrifice  which  the  policy 
involves,  we  cannot  but  deplore  the  fact  that  all  principles  of 
actual  values,  of  giving  fair  equivalents,  and  of  just  dealing 
should  be  disregarded  in  wage  bargaining.  When  the  members 
of  the  union  go  to  the  store  they  expect  that  prices  will  be 
proportional  to  values;  they  would  enforce  a  rule  on  others  which 
they  do  not  themselves  observe.  Of  course  labor  leaders  know 
this,  but  they  claim  that  their  policy  is  a  choice  of  evils;  that 
it  is  better  to  do  that  than  run  the  risk  of  divisions  and  contro¬ 
versies  within  their  own  ranks  which  would  result  from  any 
other  policy. 

The  Right  to  Strike.  As  an  abstract  proposition  it  is  hard 
to  see  how  the  right  to  strike  can  be  denied  or  even  questiond. 
Certainly  we  cannot  deny  to  any  individual  the  right  to  quit  a 
job  for  that  would  be  practical  slavery.  Even  compelling  him  to 
complete  a  labor  contract  would  be  dangerous,  for  he  might 
be  inveigled  sometimes  into  agreements  which  prove  very  unjust 
We  cannot  permit  strikes  by  soldiers;  that  would  be  desertion. 
In  national  peril  the  safety  of  the  nation  is  paramount  to  the 
rights  of  individuals.  Unless  we  are  ready  to  reestablish  slavery 
we  must  permit  an  individual  workman  to  quit  a  job  when  he 
feels  that  he  is  unjustly  treated.  But  when  a  thousand  men  quit 
at  once  it  is  more  like  a  national  than  an  individual  matter  and 
the  the  national  principle  may  have  to  apply.  If  4,000,000  men 
stop  work  at  the  same  time  it  would  be  coercing  the  nation. 

Wages  and  Charity.  It  must,  of  course,  be  admitted  that 
wages  are  often  insufficient  to  support  the  laborer’s  family,  ©r 
sometimes  even  himself.  Many  who  profit  at  labor’s  expense 
regret  this  and  seek  to  compensate  for  it  by  generous  charity. 
It  cannot  be  questioned  that  this  charity  is  generally  sincere 
and  the  result  of  a  real  and  generous  sympathy.  The  total  «f 
our  charities  is  enormous  even  if  it  is  too  small.  But  labor 
leaders  have  long  insisted  that  they  do  not  desire  charity  but 
justice;  and  that  where  charity  is  a  substitute  for  justice  labor 
can  not  be  grateful  for  it. 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


139 


Wages  and  Free  Land.  All  economists  agree  that  cheap  or 
free  land  raises  wages,  for  if  wages  sink  too  low  the  laborer  will 
betake  himself  to  land,  and  wages  can  never  go  lower  than  the 
price  which  keeps  him  from  the  land.  On  the  other  hand,  as 
the  price  of  land  rises  it  passes  beyond  the  reach  of  the  poor,' 
and  this  deliverance  from  low  wages  is  denied.  It  is  the  immense 
amount  of  free  land  in  the  United  States  wrhich  has  kept  wages 
so  much  higher  here  than  in  Europe.  But  our  free  land  of  any 
value  is  about  exhausted,  and  wages  must  tend  to  the  level  of 
wages  in  Europe.  But  wages  cannot  fall  here  without  serious 
trouble. 

Wages  and  the  Tariff.  Opinions  differ  violently  about  this. 
There  can  b’e  no  doubt  that  the  tariff  enables  manufacturers  to 
pay  higher  wages,  the  only  controversy  is  as  to  whether  they 
actually  do  it  or  not.  We  do  not  want  to  bring  our  labor  into 
competition  with  the  poorly  paid  pauper  labor  of  Europe,  all 
are  agreed  about  that.  Normal  wrages  are  undoubtedly  much 
higher  here  than  in  Europe,  but  the  cost  of  living  is  also  much 
higher  so  the  real  wages  are  sometimes  lower  here  than  there. 
Wages  are  so  much  lower  in  China  and  Japan  that  importation 
of  laborers  from  those  countries  is  forbidden  by  law.  As  nations 
draw  nearer  together  these  problems  must  grow  acute.  The 
theoretical  benefits  of  tariff  are  largely  neutralized  by  free  im¬ 
migration  which  permits  European  labor  to  come  here  and  com¬ 
pete  more  to  our  disadvantage  than  if  they  had  remained  in 
Europe. 

The  Real  Foe  of  Labor.  A  buyer  of  goods  seldom  considers 
whether  he  is  paying  what  they  are  really  worth  or  not;  he  wants 
them  as  cheaply  as  possible  and  if  the  price  is  very  low  he  asks 
no  questions.  The  public  is  constantly  “jewing”  prices  down 
by  every  possible  argument  and  device.  Of  course  this  dim¬ 
inishes  the  fund  from  which  labor  must  be  paid;  the  less  goods 
sell  for,  the  lower  wages  must  be.  Here  comes  the  effect  of  the 
unfortunate  lack  of  confidence.  Two  shovels  are  exactly  alike, 
and  made  in  the  United  States;  one  sells  at  hom'e  for  90c,  the 
other  in  South  America  for  3.6  ^c.  Such  facts  cause  the  people 
to  lose  all  faith  in  the  validity  and  honesty  of  prices  on  which 
the  fund  for  paying  wages  depends.  All  business  dishonesty  and 
chicanery  are  a  foe  of  labor. 

Labor  and  Machinery.  It  is  evident  that  as  machinery  is 
perfected  labor  must  more  and  more  be  displaced,  and  the  wage 
system  will  be  more  severely  tested.  Even  if  the  proportion 
•f  the  product  which  goes  to  labor  remained  unchanged  an 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


140 

increasing  portion  must  go  for  machinery.  The  labor  that  re¬ 
mains  will  be  more  effective,  more  intelligence  will  be  required, 
there  will  he  more  danger,  and  so  wages  must  increase  or 
ought  to.  One  man  now  does  as  much  on  the  average  as  13 
did  200  years  ago,  but  normal  wages  have  not  increased  half 
that  much,  tho  they  have  inereast  some.  In  the  long  run  ma¬ 
chinery  increases  wages;  but  as  in  all  other  industrial  readjust¬ 
ments,  labor  is  the  chief  sufferer  while  the  readjustments 
are  being  made. 

Legislation.  Unfortunately  labor  has  largely  lost  confidence 
in  the  justness  and  the  wisdom  of  labor  legislation.  Our  legis¬ 
lative  system  makes  it  impossible  to  tell  who  is  responsible 
for  defective  legislation.  If  there  is  a  minute  defect  the  courts 
will  declare  it  unconstitutional,  and  the  people  cannot  tell 
whether  to  blame  the  legislature  or  the  courts.  If  both  these 
do  their  full  duty  the  executive  department  may  enforce  the 
law  so  as  to  contravene  the  will  of  the  people  thro  their  legis¬ 
lature.  Our  system  favors  on'y  the  politician  who  wants  to 
cover  up  responsibility  for  his  acts.  A  Kansas  legislator  intro¬ 
duced  the  10  commandments  as  a  bill.  It  did  not  pass,  but  if 
it  had  the  courts  would  have  pronounct  it  unconstitutional, 
in  some  states  at  least,  on  account  of  the  4th  commandment. 
Public  confidence  in  laws  is  seriously  impaired. 

Wages  of  Women  and  Children.  When  the  father’s  wages 
are  ,too  low  to  support  the  family  the  mother  is  compeld  to  earn 
such  pittance  as  she  can  by  leaving  her  home  and  allowing  her 
children  to  grow  up  on  the  streets.  Sometimes  even  the  child 
ren  are  taken  out  of  school  and  put  to  work  in  order  to  procure 
adequate  support  for  the  family.  Many  states  have  compulsory 
education  laws  which  compel  the  children  to  attend  school 
at  least  part  of  each  year  on  the  assumption  that  they  never 
need  to  work  for  food  and  shelter.  In  New  York  city  it  was 
found  that  20,000  children  came  to  school  too  hungry  to  study 
and  they  had  to  be  fed  at  public  expense.  No  doubt  the  children 
ought  to  go  to  school,  nothing  should  be  permitted  to  rob  them 
of  that  privilege,  but  how  can  they  do  it  if  wag'es  are  too  low? 
The  wages  of  women  and  children  are  always  lower  and  sc 
reduce  the  wages  of  men,  and  the  evil  keeps  multiplying  itself. 

Substitute  for  the  Wage  System.  One  of  the  most  promising 
is  “Profit  Sharing.”  Where  a  satisfactory  basis  of  division  can 
be  agreed  upon  the  plan  works  admirably,  and  very  little  can 
be  said  against  it.  The  chief  objection,  perhaps,  is  that  it  is 
a  voluntary  concession  on  the  part  of  the  employer,  and  the 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


141 

workmen  have  no  legal  right  to  such  an  arrangement;  it  is  too 
much  like  a  charity,  and  depends  entirely  on  the  benevolence 
of  the  owner.  These  objections,  however  do  not  ho:d  against 
the  pr  nciple  involved. 

Another  plan  is  cooperative  ownership.  While  this  ap¬ 
proaches  still  nearer  the  ideal  goal  it  is  not  always  best  for 
the  workmen.  It  works  all  right  in  prosperous  times;  but  if 
the  profits  are  shared,  losses  must  also  be  shared.  But  the 
workmen  se'dom  have  enuf  ahead  to  stand  very  serious  losses, 
and  such  a  plan  might  break  down  in  a  crisis  just  when  it 
needed  to  be  strongest.  Most  any  plan  will  wrork  in  fair 
weather. 

Motives  for  Working.  The  slave  workt  because  he  had  to; 
the  motive  was  fear.  The  wage  earner  works  because  he  is 
paid  to;  the  motive  is  gain.  All  agree  that  fear  as  motive  is 
ruinous  and  is  to  be  avoided  as  much  as  possible.  But  is  the 
hope  of  gain  very  much  better?  Human  nature  is  selfish  and 
grasping  enuf  at  best  without  cultivating  the  desire  for  gain. 
And  it  is  doubtful  if  gain  is  always  the  chief  motive  of  the 
wage  earner.  When  he  works  for  a  bare  living  he  is  as  much 
driven  by  fear  as  the  s’ave,  only  he  fears  a  different  punish¬ 
ment 

Higher  Motives.  Much  of  the  most  strenuous  exertion  is 
not  the  result  of  either  of  these  motives.  Men  work  to  support 
wife  and  children;  they  work  at  public  charities;  for  patriotic 
causes  The  soldier  goes  to  the  last  limit  of  exertion  where 
neither  fear  nor  gain  are  considered  at  all.  The  consciousness 
of  serving  others,  of  providing  for  them  happiness  and  welfare 
is  the  most  powerful  motive  of  all  exertion,  and  its  exercise 
is  ennobling  and  inspiring.  Preachers,  teachers,  sot'die-rs, 
mothers  are  always  underpaid,  yet  there  are  no  more  heroic, 
devoted  workers.  Here  a  wage  is  merely  necessary  to  existence 
but  ;s  ^ever  the  primary  consideration.  It  is  in  this  direction, 
then  that  we  must  look  for  adequate  motives  for  workers. 

•  ?^or  and  Citizenship.  Every  good  citizen  is  a  laborer  of 
some  kmd.  be  he  rich  or  poor;  no  idler  could  be  a  good  citizen. 
If  a  men  does  not  earn  a  living  by  productive  labor  of  some 
sort  somebody  else  munst  earn  it  for  him.  “If  a  man  will  not 
work,  neither  7et  him  eat”  is  a  sound  principle  and  of  universal 
appMcatiou.  Men  who  make  their  living  by  speculation,  swind¬ 
ling.  or  trading  where  they  do  not  give  honest  equivalents, 
are  to  say  the  least  “undesirable  citizens.”  Many  very  rich 
men  labor  harder  than  the  average  laborer;  there  is  no  ex- 


142 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


<;eption — the  good  citizen  is  a  laborer. 

The  Labor  Problem  Insoluble.  The  object  of  this  study  is 
not  to  find  or  advocate  any  solution,  if  there  be  any,  of  the 
wage  problem.  It  is  rather  to  arouse  a  sympathetic  attitude 
towards  the  great  problems  which,  are  to  press  for  solution  in 
the  coming  years.  All  men  are  brothers;  the  children  of  the 
same  Father.  In  all  the  past,  sin  against  this  great  .truth  has 
never  been  forgiven;  the  result  has  always  been  anguish  and 
blood.  It  may  be  so  in  the  future.  But  even  if  there  were  no 
vengeance  for  social  sins,  the  good  citizen  should  do  all  he  can 
to  alleviate  social  injustices  out  of  mere  fairness  to  his  fellow 
men.  While  we  talk  more  or  less  glibly  of  human  brotherhood, 
its  meaning  is  as  yet  but  little  realized.  When  it  is  no  one  will 
be  selfishly  happy  while  a  single  human  brother  is  undeservedly 
poor  or  wretched. 

STUDY  ON  CHAP.  VIII. 

Suggested  Questions  To  Aid  Discussion. 

1.  Why  are  contented  wage  earners  necessary  to  national 
safety?  2.  Cannot  such  classes  be  made  powerless?  3.  What 
difference  between  salaried  men  and  wage  earners?  4.  What 
objection  ,to  Ricardo’s  definition  of  wages?  5.  Can  you  improve 
it?  6.  Are  nominal  wages  deceptive  7.  What  difference  be¬ 
tween  the  meaning  of  wages  to  the  employer  and  to  the  em¬ 
ployee?  8.  Is  labor  a  commodity?  9.  Should  real  wages  be  made 
stable?  10.  Is  Mr.  Rockefeller’s  wealth  a  sort  of  wage  society 
has  paid  him  for  his  services  to  it?  11.  Is  wealth  proportional 
,to  its  holder’s  social  service?  12.  Is  Supply  and  Demand  a  satis¬ 
factory  basis  for  estimating  wages?  13.  What  do  you  think  of 
Mr.  Carnegie’s  idea?  14.  Why  do  the  unemployed  tend  to 
become  tramps?  15.  Can  anyone  get  work  who  wishes  it? 
16.  Can  the  man  always  find  the  job  that  is  waiting  for  him 
somewhere?  17.  Why  will  returning  soldiers  make  wage  prob¬ 
lems  more  acute?  18.  Should  men  be  all-round  workmen  or 
specialists?  19.  Was  Girard  right?  20.  Should  a  laboring  man 
attend  picture  shows  very  often?  21.  What  do  you  think  of  the 
labor  policy  of  equal  wages  regardless  of  the  efficiency  of  the 
laborer?  22.  Should  laborers  receive  a  “fair  wage?’’  23.  Are 
employers  always  responsible  for  low  wages?  24.  Should  wages 
be  based  on  the  laborer’s  needs?  25.  Should  a  man  receive 
high  wages  if  he  squanders  them?  26.  Is  a  laborer  free  after 
he  contracts  for  a  certain  wage?  How  do  laborers  get  along 
who  do  not  receive  a  ’’living  wage  “  28.  What  can  prevent 

competition  between  laborers  from  making  wages  too  low?  29. 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


143 

Is  some  unemployment  necessary  to  the  successful  working  of 
the  wage  system?  30.  If  the  state  always  found  a  job  for  every 
idle  man  would  the  power  to  hunt  jobs  for  themselves  be 
weakened?  31.  Is  the  labor  union  valuable  to  its  members  only, 
or  to  the  entire  nation?  32.  Should  laborers  be  compeld  to  bar¬ 
gain  separately  for  wages?  33.  Should  the  right  to  strike  ever 
be  annulled?  34.  Does  tariff  raise  nominal  wages  or  real  wages? 

37.  Why  are  cheap  goods  inimical  to  the  interests  of  labor? 

38.  Does  labor-saving  machinery  help  employers  or  employees 
most?  39.  Should  the  law  prevent  a  child  from  working  for 
better  food  or  clothing?  40.  Must  “profit  sharing”  always  be 
voluntary,  or  can  it  be  established  by  law  41.  If  a  factory 
were  owned  by  its  workmen  how  would  they  live  when  it  was 
not  making  money?  42.  Which  is  the  better  motive,  fear  or 
gain?  43.  Can  higher  motives  be  enlisted?  44.  Would  we  have 
better  missionaries  if  we  paid  them  better  salaries?  45.  Are 
there  not  some  who  do  not  need  to  work?  46.  Can  we  solve  the 
labor  problem?  47.  Must  we  try  to  solve  it?  48.  What  will  do 
the  most  to  improve  labor  conditions? 

REFERENCES 

Cunningham:  Christianity  and  Social  Problems,  Part  II,  Chap.  II. 
Towne:  Chapters  VI,  VIII,  XIV. 

Ellwood:  Sociology  and  Social  Problems,  Chapter  XII. 


IX.  EDUCATION. 

INTRODUCTION. 

What  is  Education?  It  may  seem  strange  that  after  so 
many  centuries  of  educational  effort  there  should  be  any  un¬ 
certainty  as  to  just  what  it  means,  but  it  is  true.  Many  ex- 
perienct  educators  dout  if  we  really  know  yet  how  to  educate 
a  child.  This  is  not  the  result  of  ignorance,  for  never  have  the 
problems  of  education  been  studied  with  as  much  ability  and 
thoroness  as  now,  and  never  have  we  known  as  much  about 
them.  But  we  know  that  much  which  has  past  as  education 
in  the  past  hardly  deserves  the  name.  It  is  a  healthy  sign  that 
none  are  more  dissatisfied  with  educational  procedure  and 
results  than  educators  themselves. 

Definitions.  The  original  meaning  of  education  was  train¬ 
ing,  formation  of  mental  habits,  or  development  of  mental 
powers.  According  to  this,  no  knowledge  gaind  in  school  is  as 
important  as  the  processes  by  which  it  is  gaind.  The  supreme 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


144 

aim  of  education  is  the  acquiring  of  such  control  of  the  mind 
that  the  individual  is  able  to  focus  all  of  his  powers  on  whatever 
practical  problem  he  may  meet  with  in  life.  But  since  minds 
can  be  traind  only  by  acquiring  knowledge,  it  is  thought  .that 
much  practical  knowledge  is  just  as  valuable  for  mental  training 
as  any  other  knowledge,  so  that  a  pupil  might  be  taught  much 
useful  knowledge  without  sacrificing  mental  culture. 

Extremes.  Either  view  may  be  carried  to  extremes.  Cul¬ 
tural  education  often  graduates  a  student  who  is  utterly  unable 
to  make  a  living;  his  education  has  not  prepared  him  for  life. 
There  are  so  many  things  yet  to  learn  that  they  calld  his  gradu¬ 
ation  his  “commencement”  because  he  really  commenct  life 
when  he  left  school.  On  the  other  hand  it  has  been  held  that 
the  chief  if  not  the  sole  aim  of  the  school  should  be  to  fit  the 
pupil  to  make  a  living;  that  school  life  should  be  devoted 
entirely  to  acquiring  useful  knowledge,  the  ability  to  do  .this 
satisfactorily  being  taken  for  granted.  The  former  has  long 
been  called  “Liberal”  education;  the  latter  “Vocational”  edu¬ 
cation. 

The  Two  Contrasted.  The  various  liberal  or  cultural  types 
depend  upon  the  relative  predominance  of  intellectual,  moral, 
or  esthetic  elements.  Since  vocational  education  seeks  to  pre¬ 
pare  for  a  special  vocation  the  type  must  vary  with  the  vocation 
prepared  for,  and  also  with  the  directness  with  which  the  aim 
is  carried  out.  A  vocational  school  which  is  limited  exclusively 
to  preparing  pupils  for  a  single  vocation  is  not  in  reality  an 
educational  institution  but  a  fitting  school.  A  business  college, 
for  example,  is  a  very  worthy  and  a  very  necessary  institution 
but  it  is  not  an  educational  institution.  It  is  no  criticism 
of  business  coTeges  to  say  that  they  are  not  strictly  educational 
institutions.  They  have  their  place,  and  they  do  a  very  neces¬ 
sary  and  useful  work,  but  their  purpose  is  not  to  develop  mental 
ability  but  to  prepare  for  a  special  occupation. 

Vocational  Education  Right.  Even  from  the  standpoint  of 
liberal  education  the  advocates  of  vocational  education  are 
largely  right  tho  for  other  reasons  than  the  ones  usually  given. 
A  mind  is  not  developt  or  educated  except  by  studies  in  which 
it  is  vitally  interested.  Some  studies  in  the  school  curriculum 
are  not  interesting  to  all  children;  from  such  they  get  but  little 
good.  Children  are  most  vitally  interested  in  what  is  going  on 
in  the  world  and  in  studies  directly  connected  with  life.  A 
live  teacher  will  connect  all  studies  with  real  life.  Very  much 
vocational  work,  then,  can  be  done  without  sacrificing  cultural 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


145 

ideals  of  education.  Every  practicable  effort  should  be  made  to 
fit  pupils  for  a  definite  career  where  it  is  possible,  and  doubtless 
more  of  this  can  be  done  than  has  yet  been  done. 

Vocational  Education  Limited.  There  are  so  many  different 
occupations  that  to  teach  the  rudiments  of  all  of  them  is  utterly 
impossible  and  would  take  up  all  the  time  of  the  school.  To 
select  a  few  of  the  larger  vocations  would  not  be  fair  to  the 
others,  and  besides  very  many  would  afterwards  change  their 
choice.  There  are  those  wTho  live  by  exploiting  farmers,  for 
example,  who  are  anxious  to  keep  up  a  good  supply  of  farmers. 
They  advocate  an  exclusively  agricultural  education  for  rural 
children  so  that  it  wou  d  be  impossible  for  them  to  ever  leave 
the  farm  except  at  great  loss;  they  would  not  be  fitted  for  any 
other  ilfe.  The  intelligent  farmer  will  demand  the  broadest 
education  for  his  children  so  that  they  may  have  an  equal  chance 
with  others. 

Misdirected  Education.  Vocational  education  assumes  that 
the  young  student  comes  to  school  with  his  life  choices  finally 
and  wisely  made, — a  thing  which  hardly  ever  happens.  It  may 
attempt  to  fit  a  child  for  an  occupation  for  wrhich  it  has  no 
natural  adaptness,  for  its  choice  may  be  only  a  temporary  whim. 
To  train  a  child  for  an  occupation  it  will  never  follow  is  a  waste 
of  time,  and  sometimes  far  worse  than  that.  Many  a  student 
has  realized  when  too  late  that  he  spent  his  preparation  time, 
all  the  time  he  will  ever  have  in  this  world,  in  preparing  for  an 
occupation  he  will  never  follow.  If  he  had  given  his  chief  at¬ 
tention  to  mental  training  he  could  not  have  lost  by  it. 

A  Narrow  Education.  But  even  if  there  were  never  any 
mistakes  of  this  kind,  no  one  should  choose  an  exclusively  vo¬ 
cational  education.  All  life  tends  to  grow  narrower  as  we  grow 
older  so  that  the  broader  our  interests  and  sympathies  are  to 
begin  with  the  better.  A  life  narrow  at  the  beginning  becomes 
pitiable  before  the  end.  All  vocational  education  is  of  course 
narrow,  in  fact,  that  is  its  chief  value.  Its  aim  is  to  teach  the 
pupil  one  thing  and  all  effort  is  centered  on  that. 

A  Paradise  for  Quacks.  Again,  suppose  everybody  had  only 
a  vocational  education,  and  even  knew  his  vocation  far  better 
than  the  average  man  does  now;  this  would  inevitably  mean  that 
he  knew  less  of  other  vocations.  If  no  one  knew  anything  of 
medicine  but  doctors  it  would  be  a  paradise  for  quacks,  for 
nobody  would  be  a  judge  of  a  good  doctor.  If  no  one  knew 
anything  of  law  but  the  lawyers  it  would  be  a  paradise  for 
pettifoggers.  The  progress  of  the  race  d'epends  largely  upon 


146 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


the  ability  of  the  community  to  rightly  estimate  and  appreciate 
goodness,  efficiency,  worth;  for  this  no  education  can  be  too 
broad. 

Athens  and  Sparta.  A  classical  illustration  of  these  types 
:s  afforded  by  two  cities  in  ancient  Greece.  The  educational 
ideal  at  Sparta  was  vocational,  at  Athens  the  liberal  type.  Yet 
Athens  excelled  in  even  the  things  in  which  Sparta  specialized. 
In  all  her  history  Sparta  never  furnisht  a  great  philosopher,  poet 
or  statesman.  The  fame  of  ancient  Greece  is  due  entirely  to 
Athens  who  originated  the  term  “liberal  education.”  She  gave 
all  her  educational  effort  to  training  and  developing  the  minds 
of  h'er  youth,  who  then  met  the  problems  of  life  with  the  best 
minds  it  was  possible  to  acquire,  and  excelled  in  everything. 

Liberal  Education.  The  aim  of  cultural  education  is  to 
change  a  dull  boy  to  a  bright  one;  to  enable  a  pupil  to  use  its 
faculties  skillfully  and  accurately;  to  give  it  a  good  thinking 
machine.  This  is  the  intellectual  part.  It  should  also  educate 
its  tastes  so  that  it  will  not  waste  time  and  money  on  the  ugly 
and  unseemly.  It  should  also  train  it  to  get  along  well  with 
its  fellows,  ,to  observe  their  rights  and  wishes;  to  cooperate 
with  its  fellows, — that  is,  social  and  moral  education.  The 
most  valuable  studies  are  those  which  are  observed  to  produce 
these  results  in  greatest  abundance. 

Practical  Subjects.  It  is  said  that  the  child  needs  to  learn 
how  to  make  a  living  first.  But  first  of  all  the  child  must  learn 
how  to  learn.  One  aim  of  education  is  to  enable  the  child  to 
learn  rapidly  and  accurately  with  little  or  no  aid  from  a  teacher. 
Until  the  child  can  do  this  it  is  not  prepared  for  life,  for  in  all 
occupations  new  conditions  and  enterprises  are  constantly  com¬ 
ing  up  which  have  to  be  studied  and  mastered;  those  who  can 
do  so  go  to  the  top.  But  making  a  living  is  not  all;  making  a 
life  worth  living  is  far  more.  We  cannot  know  what  subjects 
will  prepare  for  life  for  we  do  not  know  what  life  will  be.  But 
developing  mental  power  will  fit  for  any  life;  the  education  which 
does  that  cannot  be  lost.  Cultural  subjects  are  the  most  prac¬ 
tical. 

Does  Higher  Education  Pay.  Out  of  11,384  names  of  success¬ 
ful  men  and  women  listed  in  a  recent  volume  of  Who’s  Who  in 
America,  over  8,000  had  attended  college,  nearly  1800  high  school, 
1100  had  attended  only  common  schools,  while  24  were  self 
taught.  This  shows  that  while  only  about  2%  attend  colleg’e, 
this  2%  furnishes  over  70%  of  the  most  successful.  There  is 
no  explanation  possible  except  that  education  greatly  increases 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


147 

one’s  chances  in  life.  The  increase  in  happiness  and  satisfaction 
is  in  still  greater  proportion. 

Specialists.  We  are  told  that  this  is  the  age  of  the  specialist 
There  is  some  truth  in  this  but  also  dangerous  fallacy.  The 
exploiter  of  labor  favors  specialists.  He  would  get  better  service, 
he  hopes,  and  if  a  workman  can  do  only  one  thing  the  man  who 
controls  that  job  has  him  at  a  disadvantage  and  can  pay  him 
what  he  likes.  The  specialist  fallacy  is  this;  a  man  should 
specialize,  but  not  till  he  has  a  liberal  education.  Then  he 
can  specialize  with  safety  and  profit,  for  he  makes  a  better 
specialist  if  he  has  a  liberal  education  first. 

Education  and  Life  Choices.  Few  of  those  entering  college 

have  decided  on  their  life  work.  One  of  the  greatest  values 

* 

of  a  college  education  is  th'e  aid  it  gives  in  choosing  a  calling. 
For  this  purpose  alone  it  is  worth  all  it  costs.  A  significant 
illustration  of  this  is  shown  by  divorce  statistics.  While  a 
smaller  proportion  of  college  women  marry  this  is  not  a  reason 
for  b'ame.  They  are  more  independent,  command  better  salaries, 
are  better  judges  of  men,  and  are  under  less  economic  pressure 
to  marry.  But  while  between  7%  and  8%  of  all  marriages  end 
in  divorce  scarcely  any  college  women  are  divorced.  This  can¬ 
not  be  accident.  The  chief  reason  is,  they  make  wiser  choices. 
The  day  may  come  when  to  deprive  a  girl  of  a  cultural  'educatioi 
will  rank  with  the  highest  cruelties. 

Education  and  the  Home.  Much  of  the  old  education  at  the 
home  has  been  transferd  to  the  school;  we  need  not  now  inquire 
into  the  reasons  for  it.  Most  of  the  children  spend  half  their 
waking  hours  at  school  for  three-fourths  of  the  years  they  are 
at  home.  Most  of  their  growth  and  development  occurs  there. 
It  is  evident,  then,  that  a  closer  relation  between  the  school  and 
home  is  needed.  The  school  must  do  more  than  supp’enm 
home;  it  must  cooperate  with  it.  The  practice,  which  is  begin¬ 
ning  to  be  common,  of  giving  children  school  credit  for  work 
and  chores  done  at  home  is  excellent  from  every  point  of  view. 

Parent  Teacher  Associations.  This  is  an  attempt  to  bring 
teachers  and  parents  into  closer  relations.  These  have  proved  of 
great  value  except  where  parents  have  made  them  an  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  interfering  in  school  management  or  discipline.  They 
afford  opportunity  for  expression  of  parental  interest  in  the 
school,  and  for  the  discussion  of  matters  of  importance  to  both. 
The  chief  problem  is  the  program.  It  is  not  best  to  have  them 
too  often;  one  inspiring  meeting  is  worth  hundreds  of  perfunct¬ 
ory  gatherings.  Their  chief  value  is  the  opportunity  they  afford 


T4§ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


for  social  contact  and  cooperation  between  two  classes  of  work¬ 
ers  with  the  same  children. 

School  Social  Centers.  It  is  increasingly  evident  that  the 
homes  cannot  conveniently  or  efficiently  minister  to  the  social 
needs  of  the  commuity;  they  do  not  exist  for  that  purpose 
and  houses  are  seldom  suitable.  School  houses  should  be  de¬ 
signed  and  equipt  to  serve  the  social  needs  of  the  community. 
Rooms  can  be  pland  and  furnisht  so  as  to  serve  both  school  and 
commuity  needs.  There  should  be  a  library  and  reading  room, 
a  p’ace  for  concerts,  lectures,  stereopticon,  and  if  possible, 
motion  pictures,  community  banquets,  social  gatherings  of  young 
and  old.  The  school  should  be  the  center  of  the  community 
life,  and  should  be  built  accordingly. 

The  Community  Church.  This  should  be  near  the  school 
and  where  possible  should  be  the  center  of  the  social  life  of  the 
community,  for  which  it  is  much  better  adapted  than  the  school 
house.  But  the  community  church  seems  impossible  under  our 
denominational  system.  The  center  of  interest  and  loyalty  of 
a  denominational  church  would  not  be  the  community  it  serves 
but  the  denomination  to  which  it  belongs.  Too  often  the  com¬ 
munity  is  expected  to  serve  the  church,  instead  of  the  church 
serving  the  community.  The  problem  is  difficult  tho  it  ought  to 
be  so’vable,  but  cannot  be  discust  here,  M^here  no  community 
church  is  possible  the  school  must  enlarge  its  functions  so  as  to 
cover  the  moral  and  social  interests  of  the  community,' leaving 
of  cours’e  the  religious  interests  to  denominational  organizations. 


SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT  AND  ADMINISTRATION. 

District  and  County  Systems.  The  county  or  township  or¬ 
ganization  generally  prevails  in  the  East  and  Bouth,  the  district 
system  in  about  haT  of  the  other  states.  The  District  system 
originated  in  Massachusetts  as  a  temporary  device,  and  was 
abandoned  after  about  50  years  trial.  Horace  Mann  said  that 
in  that  short  time  it  injured  the  educational  interests  of  Mass, 
more  than  anything  else  in  her  history.  Notwithstanding  this 
it  is  generally  adopted  thruout  the  entire  country.  It  has  now, 
however,  been  rejected  by  nearly  all  the  southern  states  and  by 
many  of  the  most  progressive  northern  states.  From  an  edu¬ 
cational  standpoint  there  never  was  anything  to  recommend  it; 
the  reasons  for  its  adoption  have  been  political  rather  than 
educational.  It  is  a  misapplication  of  the  principle  of  local 
self-government,  but  overlooks  the  principle  that  schools  exist 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS' 


149 

solely  for  the  benefit  of  the  children.  The  only  question  that 
the  good  citizen  can  consider  is  what  method  provides  /the  best 
educational  advantages  for  the  children. 

The  Direction  of  Educational  Effort.  This  is  not  only  one  of 
the  most  important  but  one  of  the  most  difficult  tasks  of  civiliized 
life.  While  i,t  has  engaged  the  life  thought  and  labor  of  thous¬ 
ands  of  the  greatest  minds  of  the  race  for  thousands  of  years 
its  problems  are  still  unsolvd,  and  we  are  still  wasting  much 
of  the  lives  of  our  children  and  of  future  generations.  Philoso¬ 
phers,  statesmen,  scientists,  mothers,  as  well  as  teachers  have 
made  it  their  chief  interest  but  still  our  education  is  disgrace¬ 
fully  imperfect  and  inefficient.  The  opinion  somehow  generally 
prevails  that  most  anybody  can  be  a  school  director.  Men  are 
sometimes  elected  school  directors  to  keep  down  the  school  tax! 
Often  when  directors  do  know  anything  about  educational 
matters  they  are  30  to  40  years  behind  the  times  so  that  some¬ 
times  i  literate  men  make  better  directors. 

Never  Knows  the  Difference.  One  of  the  most  discouraging 
features  of  our  system  is  that  the  incompetent  school  director 
never  knows  his  mistakes  or  is  conscious  of  his  failures.  He 
is  often  supremely  satisfied  with  and  even  proud  of  his  supposed 
attainments.  This  is  pathetic  enuf;  but  when  we  reflect  that 
it  is  not  he  who  loses,  but  innocent  children  whose  only  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  life  preparation  has  been  squandered  by  his  blind 
incompetency,  the  case  is  tragic.  If  the  incompetent  school 
director  could  realize  the  facts  he  would  refuse  the  trust  which 
his  fellow  citizens  thrust  upon  him.  But  he  usually  thinks  he  is 
doing  well  enuf  and  as  well  as  any  one  else  would. 

Selecting  Teachers.  If  ever  a  job  required  omnescience  it 
is  the  selection  of  teachers.  A  teacher  who  is  a  failure  in  one 
place  is  often  a  success  ill  another.  The  problem  is  first  to  be 
sure  the  teacher  has  the  necessary  qualifications,  and  second, 
to  match  the  teacher  and  the  school  and  community.  Either  fails 
without  the  other.  In  this  respect  our  system  is  notoriously 
imperfect.  The  selection  of  teachers  taxes  the  wisdom  of  the 
most  experienct  and  competent  educators  and  yet  the  task  is 
often  left  to  those  with  no  knowledge  or  experience  whatever. 

An  Extreme  Case.  An  Oklahoma  school  director  once  said 
to  the  writer,  “I  don’t  keer  ennything  fer  yer  dieplomers  an 
reckymendashuns ;  I  kin  size  up  a  teacher  in  half  a  minnit  by 
jis  lookin  at  her.”  And  under  our  present  system  the  educational 
interests  of  a  community  are  entrusted  to  such  a  man.  A  resi¬ 
dent  of  a  small  town  in  New  York  state  was  boasting  of  the 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


150 

local  school  board.  “Why,”  said  he,  “the  president  of  the  Board 
is  a  man  of  the  finest  judgment  you  ever  saw.  He  can  tell  within 
five  pounds  just  what  a  heifer  will  weigh.”  And  such  judgment 
was  in  that  village  proudly  supposed  to  be  ample  for  selecting 
teachers.  These  men  are  doubtless  good  citizens  in  their  place, 
but  are  they  educators?  Are  such  directors  the  very  best  pro¬ 
vision  we  can  make  for  the  direction  of  our  children’s  education? 

Seeking  a  School.  One  of  the  most  obnoxious  and  repulsive 
tasks  in  the  civilized  world  is  hunting  a  school.  To  a  sensitive, 
refined  teacher  it  is  the  most  objectionable  feature  of  the  pro¬ 
fession  of  teaching.  The  ordeal  is  severe  enuf  at  best  but  school 
boards,  especially  in  the  country,  often  needlessly  aggravate  it. 
It  is  not  surprising  that  most  teachers  get  out  of  the  profession 
as  soon  as  possible.  It  is  notorious  that  good  looks,  pheasant 
address,  and  recommendations  from  friends  are  more  potent  in 
getting  a  school  than  evidence  of  scholarship,  experience,  or 
of  preparation  for  teaching.  Excellent  teachers  who  are  in  the 
profession  for  life  are  often  relegated  to  inferior  positions, 
while  best  positions  go  to  persons  who  are  only  teaching  for 
a  little  money  with  no  intention  of  making  it  a  life  work. 

The  Most  Competent.  The  gist  of  the  matter  is  this:  Does 
one  who  has  studied  a  difficult  matter  for  years  know  any  more 
about  it  than  one  who  has  given  it  but  little  or  no  attention? 
So  many  men  assume  that  they  know  as  much  about  educating 
a  child  as  a  teacher  does.  While  the  experienct  teacher  shudders 
at  the  responsibility  of  the  direction  of  education  many  who 
have  scarcely  given  it  a  superficial  thought  clamor  for  control 
of  th'e  schools.  We  must  come  to  this:  we  must  train  teachers 
and  select  them  as  carefully  as  we  can,  and  then  trust  them  with 
the  education  of  the  children.  Under  the  present  system  neither 
the  teacher  nor  any  one  else  has  a  fair  chanc'e;  every  teacher 
is  restrained  or  handicapped  by  lack  of  equipment,  inadequate 
salary,  uncertainty  of  tenure  of  position;  and  the  board  mem¬ 
bers  are  equally  handicapt  by  the  demands  of  private  business, 
lack  of  knowledge  of  educational  science  and  of  what  is  happen¬ 
ing  in  th'e  school  room,  and  the  helpless  children  suffer. 

Education  Controld  by  Teachers.  If  experienct  educators 
cannot  solve  educational  problems,  who  can?  We  should  manage 
it  so  that  the  teacher’s  profession  would  attract  the  ablest  and 
best  men  and  women,  and  the  requirements  should  be  such  as 
to  exclude  ad  the  incompetent  ancl  unworthy.  Make  the  pro¬ 
fession  what  it  needs  to  be,  and  then  hold  it  responsible  for 
the  results.  France  approximates  this  and  has  by  common  con- 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


151 

sent  the  bes,t  educational  system  in  the  world.  They  have 
a  national  board,  whose  head  is  a  member  of  the  president’s 
cabinet,  composed  of  persons  of  the  highest  character  and  in¬ 
telligence,  some  of  them  eminent  teachers.  They  have  entire 
control  of  all  educational  affairs,  even  making  all  school  laws. 
Under  them  are  district  boards  in  charge  of  the  different  di¬ 
visions  of  the  nation.  They  fix  teacher’s  salaries  which  are  paid 

by  the  nation.  Each  community  furnishes  the  school  building 
and  equipment  just  as  we  do.  Thus  France  secures  for  edu¬ 
cational  management  the  very  highest  ability  and  knowledge 
she  has;  thus  she  secures  for  her  children  the  very  best  advan¬ 
tages  possible.  Can  we  not  do  as  well? 

The  County  Unit  System.  This  is  our  nearest  approach  to 
the  French  system.  It  places  all  the  schools  of  a  county  under 
one  school  board  whose  educational  qualifications  are  prescribed 
by  law  so  that  it  is  composed  of  thoroly  qualified  persons.  The 
salaries  of  all  teachers  are  paid  by  the  state  so  that  no  com¬ 
munity  is  tempted  to  rob'  its  children  to  keep  taxes  low.  Each 
community  furnishes  its  school  property  as  now.  This  board 
decides  all  controversies  concerning  school  matters  promptly 
and  finally  and  so  avoids  the  disputes  and  quarrels  which  so  often 
prevent  good  schools  and  paralyze  all  educational  effort,  and 
which  often  go  on  from  bad  to  worse  unless  settled  by  dis¬ 
interested  outsiders.  This  plan  considers  only  the  welfare  of 
the  children,  all  else  is  excluded.  The  facts  that  this  method 
is  so  rapidly  coming  into  use  in  this  country,  that  it  has  provd 
so  successful  in  France,  and  that  England’s  new  educational 
bill  is  in  the  same  direction  justifies  its  advocacy  here. 

The  Administration  of  City  Schools.  The  county  unit  system  is 
already  in  use  in  most  of  the  southern  states  and  the  most 
progressive  states  elsewhere.  Something  like  it  prevails  to 
some  extent  in  the  administration  of  citjr  schools.  It  is  becom¬ 
ing  the  universal  practice  of  city  boards  of  education  to  employ 
a  superintendent  and  entrust  him  to  the  entire  management  of 
the  schools  and  hold  him  responsible  for  the  results.  Such  a 
policy,  however,  is  entirely  voluntary  with  the  school  boards; 
it  is  seldom  provided  by-  law.  It  is  the  nearest  approach  we 
have  to  education  directed  by  educators,  and  the  result  is  that 
our  city  schools  are  incomparably  the  best  we  hav’e.  The  same 
policy  is  spreading  to  the  smaller  cities  and  towns  where 
salaries  are  large  enuf  to  attract  able  superintendents.  It  is 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


152 

little  credit  to  us  that  our  best  schools  exist  in  spite  of  our 
system,  rather  than  as  a  result  of  it. 

The  Townshio  Unit  System.  This  is  used  in  the  six  New 
England  states,  and  in  Northern  Mich.,  New  Jersey,  Penn.,  Ohio, 
Ind.,  and  N.  Dak.  The  County  Unit  System  is  used  in  Md.,  Ky., 
Tenn.,  Ga.,  Ala.,  Fla.,  La.  and  N.  Car.,  S.  Car.,  Iowa  and  Utah  have 
a  mixt  system.  In  densely  populated  states  the  Township  system 
would  operate  about  the  same  as  the  County  system  in  sparsely 
populated  states.  The  principles  are  the  same.  Nearly  all 
of  these  states  now  having  the  larger  unit  once  used  .the  District 
system.  Indiana  abandoned  it  in  1852,  Massachusetts  in  1882, 
New  Hampshire  in  1885,  Georgia  in  1887,  Florida  in  1889,  etc. 
The  larger  unit  system  is  used  in  all  cities.  Oklahoma  City,  for 
example,  has  25  schools  under  one  school  board  and  one  sup¬ 
erintendent.  In  Ill.  there  are  about  12,000  teachers  in  the 
district  schools  which  have  about  40,000  directors;  while  Chicago 
has  over  6,000  teachers  and  only  21  directors,  and  would  be 
better  off  with  7. 

Compulsory  Education.  It  is  evident  that  parents’  control 
over  their  children  must  have  necessary  limits;  in  the  nature 
of  things  no  right  can  transcend  those  of  the  children.  A  great 
many  calculations  show  that  the  cash  value  of  every  day  a  child 
spends  at  school  is  worth  to  it,  on  the  average,  from  $5  to  $10. 
It  can  seldom  earn  more  than  a  dollar  a  day  at  work.  When 
it  is  kept  out  of  school  it  is  clearly  robbed  of  the  difference. 
There  are,  of  course,  such  emergencies  such  as  cotton  picking 
when  the  schools  should  be  closed,  for  the  work  is  so  necessary 
that  the  pupils  gains  in  the  family  welfare  more  than  it  loses. 
But  no  parent  should  be  permitted  to  exploit  the  labor  of  a  child 
for  profit. 

Pupils  Kept  In  Classes.  The  recitation  a  pupil  misses  by. 
absence  are  only  a  small  part  of  its  losses.  Irregular  attendance 
makes  good  classification  of  pupils  impossible;  this  is  a  loss 
not  only  to  the  irregular  pupil  but  to  all  others,  so  that  the 
irregularity  of  one  family  inevitably  injures  the  whole  com¬ 
munity.  The  greater  expense  of  teaching  pupils  individually 
would  make  popular  education  impossible  without  classes.  No 
classification  of  pupils  can  be  perfect  at  best  so  a  very  little 
irregularity  is  a  serious  matter.  Classes  in  arithmetic,  for 
example,  are  usually  a  year  apart,  so  that  dropping  out  of  a 
class  means  losing  a  year  of  school.  Our  compulsory  education 

t 

law  compels  children  to  attend  three  months  each  year;  but 
it  is  impossible  to  keep  pupils  well  classified  who  attend  only 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


153 


that  much.  The  truth  must  be  learned:  we  cannot  educate  bur 
children  without  keeping  up  good  classification  of  pupils;  it  is 
vital  to  our  educational  system. 

Ethical  Education.  Far  greater  effort  should  be  made  to 
make  education  develop  character.  The  state  cannot  afford  to 
educate  bad  characters,  or  the  selfish  and  corrupt  who  live 
only  for  themselves,  and  would  not  if  it  knew  them  in  advance 
for  it  would  make  them  more  dangerous  to  the  state.  Those  who 
are  educated  by  the  state  are  under  obligations  to  become  good- 
citizens  of  it;  otherwise  the  state  is  not  justified  in  supporting 
public  education.  But  a  good'  citizen  is  impossible  without  good 
character;  that  must  come  first.  But  a  good  character  in  private 
life  is  often  grossly  negligent  of  public  duties;  we  must  develop 
both  character  and  citizenship.  To  find  more  effective  ways  of 
doing  this  is  the  greatest  need  of  our  education. 

Education  our  Highest  Interest.  Over  the  school  house 
hover  all  the  good  angels  of  the  Future;  all  that  Humanity  is 
ever  to  achieve  is  latent  in  the  little  school  desk.  No  other 
trust  can  equal  it;  no  other  interest  compare  with  it.  To  put  the 
least  obstacle  in  the  way  of  educational  advance  is  to  renounce 
all  claim  to  good  citizenship  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man.  It  is 
the  ark  of  God’s  covenant  with  the  race;  by  far  our  most  price¬ 
less  possession.  The  children  are  our  only  real  treasure;  all 
else  is  rubbish  and  tinsel.  Well  did  the  great  Master  say: 
“Whoso  shall  offend  one  of  these  little  ones,  *  *  *  it  were  better 
for  him  that  a  millstone  were  hanged  about  his  neck  and  he 
were  sunk  in  the  depth  of  the  sea.”  To  oppose  anything  that 
tends  to  benefit  education  is  certainly  offending  many  of  the 
little  ones  dear  alike  to  earth  and  heaven. 

Education  Our  Ultimate  Hope.  This  study  of  a  few  of  our 
social  problems  shows  how  difficult  and  perplexing  they  are. 
Their  solution  will  demand  the  very  highest  quality  of  character 
and  citizenship  it  is  possible  to  secure.  On  all  sides  we  are 
hearing  it  admitted  that  we  must  look  to  education  to  do  more 
than  we  have  done,  or  can  do.  The  demand  is  not  so  much  for 
more  grammar,  arithmetic,  or  geography,  tho  they  should  he 
taught  with  the  utmost  efficiency,  the  new  demand  is  that  our 
education  shall  produce  higher  types  of  character  and  citizen¬ 
ship;  not  the  individual  but  the  social  character,  the  good 
citizen,  the  soldier  of  the  common  good.  It  is  in  the  light  of 
this  purpose  that  we  must  work  for  educational  improvement. 


154 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


STUDY  ON  CHAP.  IX. 

Suggested  Questions  To  Aid  Discussion. 

1.  Why  should  greater  study  make  educational  problems 
seem  more  difficult?  2.  What  is  education?  3.  Is  the  acquisition 
of  all  knowledge  equally  beneficial  to  the  mind,  or  are  some 
subjects  more  valuable  than  others?  4.  How  would  you  define 
a  “Liberal  Education?”  5.  How  define  a  “Vocational  Education?” 
6.  Are  they  entirely  incomputable?  7.  If  you  could  not  get  both 
which  one  would  you  prefer?  8.  Which  would  be  the  best  for 
a  slave?  9.  Which  best  for  a  freeman?  10.  Is  there  any  way 
to  tell  what  vocation  a  child  should  be  educated  ror?  11.  Should 
each  one  select  his  own  vocation  or  would  it  be  better  if  some 
one  else  selected  it  for  him?  12.  Could  parents  or  officials 
select  a  vocation  earlier  and  so  give  longer  time  to  prepare 
for  it?  13.  Where  each  selects  his  own  vocation  what  can  be 
done  for  those  who  are  unable  to  decide  till  after  school  days 
are  over?  14.  Why  should  ancient  Athens  have  excelled  Sparta? 
15.  Why  do  you  think  higher  education  pays?  16.  When  should 
one  begin  to  specialize?  17.  Why  should  fewer  college  women 
be  divorced?  18.  Can  the  school  and  home  be  more  closely 
connected?  19.  What  are  some  topics  which  might  be  profitably 
discust  by  Parent-Teacher  Associations?  20.  Draw  a  plan  of  a 
building  which  cou’d  be  used  both  for  school  and  community 
purposes?  21.  Why  should  the  “District  System”  be  the  most 
popular  one  in  half  the  states?  22.  Why  is  it  being  given  up 
in  so  many  states?  23.  Should  educational  policies  be  directed 
by  the  most  competent  or  by  popular  vote?  Why?  24.  Does 
the  average-  school  director  choose  a  teacher  or  an  agreeable 
personality?  25.  What  are  some  of  the  advantages  of  the  French 
system?  26.  Why  should  children  who  will  not  behave  well  be 

removed  from  school?  27.  What  compensation  is  there  for 

* 

keeping  an  unruly  child  in  school?  28.  Why  can  the  state  not 
afford  to  educate  those  who  are  not  going  to  be  good  citizens? 
29.  Would  a  parent  who  earned  a  fortune  for  a  child  be  doing 
it  a  greater  service  than  giving  it  an  education?  30.  Can  we 
ever  have  perfect  education?  31.  The  first  of  these  studies  was 
the  Problem  of  the  Family,  the  last,  Education:  does  every 
social  problem  begin  and  end  with  the  children? 


REFERENCES 

Hart:  Educational  Resources,  Chapters  XIV — XVI. 
Towne:  Social  Problems,  Chapter  IV. 


SOCIAL  PROBLEMS 


155 


CONTENTS 

FOREWORD  .  82 

I.  THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  MODERN  FAMILY . . .  S3 

Family  fundamental.  Prolongation  of  Infancy.  Mother  and 

Family.  Failure  of  the  Family.  Matrimonial  Choosing.  Matri¬ 
monial  Aids.  Chief  Failure.  Home  the  Cornerstone  of  Civiliza¬ 
tion.  The  New  Woman.  Competing  with  the  Home.  Happy 
Homes.  Will  the  Plome  Survive?  The  Greatest  Danger.  What 
is  the  Remedy? 

II.  CIVILIZATION  AND  THE  USE)  OF  LEISURE .  89 

Nature  of  the  Problem.  Leisure  the  Building  Time.  Play  and 

Personality.  Play  and  Morality.  Chicago’s  Experiment.  Play 
and  Health.  Play  and  Mental  Development.  Athletics.  Com¬ 
mercialized  Amusements.  Saloons.  Soldier’s  Leisure  must  be 
protected.  Adult  Attitude.  An  Ancient  Testimony.  Leisure  time 
not  lost.  Play  is  Life  to  the  Child.  Play  and  Democracy.  Use 
of  Leisure.  The  Great  Perversion. 

III.  COVERSATION  OF  LIFE  . : .  96 

Ancient  Views.  Modern  View.  Lengthening  Life.  Partial 

Death.  Deferred  Penalties.  Laws  of  Health.  Eating.  Essential 
Foods.  Mastication.  Cooking.  Jovial  Meals.  Sanitation.  Town 
and  Country.  Flies.  Tuberculosis.  Sanitoriums.  Inoculation. 
Serum  Treatments.  Nursing  Profession.  Fresh  Air.  Altruism 
of  Medical  Men.  A  Healthier  World. 

IV.  PUBLIC  FINANCE  . . . 103 

Inefficiency.  Tax  Maxims.  Shifting  of  Taxes.  Inheritance 

Tax.  Income  Tax.  Corporation  Tax.  Unearned  Increment  Tax. 
Unwise  Taxes.  Tax  Philosophy.  National  Purse.  Expenditure. 
Budget  System.  Local  Finances.  General  Property  Tax.  Assess¬ 
ments.  Permanency.  Home  Rule  in  Taxation.  State  Purse. 
Emptying  State  Purse.  Importance  of  Expenditure. 

V.  THE  STATE  AND  THE  INDIVIDUAL . 109 

Relations.  Both  Indispensable.  State  Must  Control.  Limita¬ 
tions.  State  Must  Protect  the  Individual.  Self-Protection.  State 
Must  Assist  Individuals.  Helping  without  Pauperizing.  Subser¬ 
viency.  State  must  Develop  the  Individual.  German  Education. 
State  and  the  Criminal.  State  and  the  Poor.  Patriotism.  War 
Time  Relations.  Individualism  and  Socialism.  Character  and 
Citizenship. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 


156 

VI.  THE  WORLD  TREND  TO  DEMOCRACY . 116 

Aristotle’s  Cycle.  The  Present  Trend.  Republic  and  Democ¬ 
racy.  Autocracy  Efficient.  Democracy  growing  more  efficient. 
Defects  of  Democracy.  Democracy  the  World’s  Hope.  Duties  of 
Democracy.  Individual  responsibility.  Democracy  and  Peace. 

VII.  RURAL  PROBLEMS . . . 1 . . . 120 

Drift  to  Cities.  Not  wholly  bad.  Farm  Machinery.  Intoler¬ 
able  Uncertainty.  Hard  Life.  Isolation.  High  Price  of  Land. 
Co-operation.  Co-operative  Marketing.  Co-operative  Borrowing. 
Co-operative  Machinery.  Good  Roads.  Exploiting  the  Farmer. 
Price  Control.  Problem  Spiritual  not  Material.  Social  Life  in  the 
Country.  Society  and  Happiness.  Amusements.  Singing.  Lit¬ 
erary  Societies.  Consolidated  Schools.  Rural  Course  of  Study. 
Leaving  Home  for  Education.  Harmony.  Land  fop  Returning 
Soldiers.  Our  Chiefest  Problem. 

VIII.  THE  WAGE  SYSTEM . . , . 129 

Increasing  Unrest.  Definitions.  Wage  Theories.  What  are 

Wages?  Different  Standpoints.  Labor  as  a  Commodity.  Un¬ 
stable  Wages.  Distribution  of  Wealth.  Law  of  Supply  and  De¬ 
mand.  Subordination  of  the  Worker.  Unemployment.  Enforced 
Idleness.  War  and  Unemployment.  Effects  of  Specialization. 
Profits  and  Wages.  Piece  Work  and  Wages.  What  is  a  Fair 
Wage?  Employer  not  Free.  Employer  and  Low  Wages.  Wages 
and  Needs.  Wages  and  Improvidence.  Living  Wage.  Wage  Com¬ 
petition.  Wages  and  Unemployment.  Employment  Bureaus.  Labor 
Unions.  Wage  Bargaining.  Menace  of  the  Union.  Right  to  strike. 
Wages  and  Charity.  Wages  and  Free  Land.  Wages  and  the 
Tariff.  Real  Foe  of  Labor.  Labor  and  Machinery.  Legislation. 
Wages  of  Women  and  Children.  Substitutes  for  the  Wage  System. 
Motives  for  Working.  Higher  Motives.  Labor  and  Citizenship. 
Problem  Insoluble. 

IX.  EDUCATION  . . . . . . 143 

What  is  Education?  Definitions.  Extremes.  The  Two.  Con¬ 
trasted.  Vocational  Education  Right.  Vocational  Education 
Limited.  Misdirected  Education.  Never  Knows  the  Difference. 
Selection  of  Teachers.  An  Extreme  Case.  Seeking  a  School. 
Most  Competent.  Education  Controled  by  Teachers.  County  Unit 
System.  Township  Unit  System.  Compulsory  Education.  Pupils 
Kept  in  Classes.  Ethical  Education.  Education  our  Highest  In¬ 
terest.  Education  our  Ultimate  Hope. 


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UNIVER9ITY  OF  ILLINOI9-URBANA 


3  0112  099012780 


DEBATE  BULLETINS 


These  are  collections  of  facts  and  arguments  on  both  sides 
of  public  questions.  While  efforts  are  made  to  secure  accuracy 
in  statements  of  facts,  none  is  made  to  test  the  soundness  of 
arguments;  they  are  simply  arguments  which  are  used.  The 
debator  himself  needs  the  discipline  of  testing  arguments.  A 
brief  description  of  these  bulletins  are  given  below: 

Number  12.  A  Students’  Manual  of  Debating  and  Parliamen¬ 
tary  Practice.  This  is  a  reprint  with  a  few  changes  of  tjhree 
bulletins  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin.  It  contains,  (1)  Sug¬ 
gestions  for  organization,  with  a  Model  Constitution;  (2)  A 
brief  Manual  of  Parliamentary  Practice;  (3)  A  brief  Manual 
of  Argumentation;  (4)  Instructions  to  Judges.  Sold  at  10c  per 
copy. 

Number  13.  The  Initiative  and  Referendum.  Giving  sev¬ 
eral  articles  and  digests  of  a  number  of  others.  (Out) 

Number  15.  Unicameral  Legislatures.  72  pp.  Same  plan. 

Guaranty  of  Bank  Deposits.  80  pages.  (Out) 
Woman  Suffrage.  80  pages.  (Out) 
Consolidation  of  Rural  Schools.  32  pages. 

The  Preferential  Ballot.  56  pages. 

Government  Ownership  of  Railways.  116  pp. 
The  Single  Tax.  162  pages. 

Workmen’s  Compensation.  132  pages. 

Selling  Munitions  of  War.  64  pages. 

Continuing  the  Monroe  Doctrine.  148  pages. 
Teachers’  Pensions.  52  pages. 

Compulsory  Arbitration  of  Labor  Disputes. 
Woman  Suffrage  No.  2.  80  pages. 

The  Citv  Manager  Plan.  84  pages. 


Number  16. 
Number  17. 
Number  18. 
Number  20. 
Number  22. 
Number  22. 
Number  24. 
Number  26. 
Number  28. 
Number  30. 
Number  34. 
Number  40. 
Number  43. 


Others  in  preparation. 

All  these  bulletins  except  Number  12,  are  furnished  free  to 
any  citizen  of  the  state. 

It  is  desirable  that  each  debating  club  should  have  more  than 
one  copy  of  each  bulletin,  at  least  one  for  each  debator.  We 
will  send  whatever  number  will  be  actually  used.  Address  all 
requests  to 

THE  UNIVERSITY  EXTENSION  DIVISION 
Department  of  Public  Discussion  and  Debate 
Norman,  Oklahoma 


